England v India, Test series 2018: How will the Indian batsmen fare?

Middle Order

Will Kohli rewrite his England horrors?

Cheteshwar Pujara will take India's number three spot during the Tests. Pujara's county stint will likely help him survive in the testing English conditions. While he has not been in the best of form in recent times, his survival instincts, calmness and determination will help him bat for long hours.

Pujara's statistics in England are not promising but he will certainly try to better his records in the upcoming five Tests.

India's skipper Virat Kohli will take the number four spot. Kohli will look to rewrite his England horrors when he takes the field in whites. In 2014, Virat only scored 134 runs in 10 innings at an unacceptable average of 13.4.

Anderson's 4th stump line troubled Kohli as he failed to show compactness in his defensive technique. Kohli's trigger movement ended at the off stump, which forced him to play at deliveries bowled on the 4th stump. The England bowlers targeted Kohli at that line and the current Indian skipper had no answers.

Four years later, Kohli will don the whites as one of the finest batsmen in the world. The 29-year-old will be the key to India's success on this tour.

India's most equipped batsman Ajinkya Rahane has been short on confidence in recent times. He has failed in numerous crunch situations lately, and has failed to capture the captain's attention. Earlier this year, he was dropped for the first two Tests in South Africa.

However, Rahane showed a lot of fight during India's last tour to England, and his century at Lord's helped the visitors to a famous victory. Rahane's hunger for runs has been missing for long but the Mumbaikar is expected to get his form back.