England vs India, 3rd Test: Preview, Probable XI, Head-to-Head, Team News & Key Stats

England has been overly domineering in this series thus far and looks good to steal the show by the end of the series. However, the Indian team is expected to give a good fight in the remainder of the series.

After the Lord's debacle, the Indian team management will need to introspect and rectify the mistakes that they made in the second Test. On the other hand, England looks good to go with a strong and confident team up their sleeve.

Thus, it will turn out to be a crucial match for both, India and England, as the former would be fighting hard to save the series while the latter will be contemplating a yet another home series win against India.

England vs India, 3rd Test Details

Match Date: 18 August - 22 August 2018, Saturday

Match Timing: 15:30 IST, 10:00 AM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL

Match Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England

Team News

India - Jasprit Bumrah has deemed match fit for the third Test which has come as good news for the Indian team. Moreover, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also hit the gym. However, he is not very likely to play the third Test. Meanwhile, Kohli, who was suffering from a back injury during the second Test, has recovered completely and is fit to play the third Test.

England - After having cleared from the criminal charges, Ben Stokes has been added to the England squad for the third Test. Stokes' return will create a sense of a selection headache among the team management.

Weather

Although there are slight chances of rain on the first day of the third Test, it is not expected to be a spoilsport in the course of the match. The humidity levels will be hitting around 59 per cent mark while the temperature will be panning around 22 degree Celsius. Thus, with 96 percentage cloud cover, the weather is expected to be hazy, and it might assist the bowlers early on in the innings.

Head-to-head in Tests

England and India have played 119 Test matches. Out of these, India has won 25 while England has won 45, with 49 matches ending in a draw.

Head-to-head in Tests in England

England and India have met 59 times in England in Tests. Out of these, England has registered a win on 32 occasions while India on 6 occasions, with 21 matches ending in a draw.

England 3rd Test Squad:

Ben Stokes has been drafted in the squad for the third Test

Joe Root (C), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes, James Anderson, and James Porter.

England's Probable XI for the 3rd Test: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (C), Oliie Pope, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson.

India 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Test Squad:

Virat Kohli and men will need to regather themselves in the third Test

Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami.

India's Probable XI for the 3rd Test: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Ishant Sharma.

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Stats and numbers

5 – Ishant Sharma needs 6 more scalps to complete 250 wickets in the history of Test cricket. Scalping these wickets, Ishant will become the only 7th Indian to take 250 or more wickets in Test cricket.

12 – Stuart Broad needs 12 more runs to achieve the feat of 3000 Test runs. Amassing these runs, Broad will become the only 5th player to achieve a double of 3000 Test runs and 400 wickets in Test cricket.

59 – Ajinkya Rahane, the deputy to Virat Kohli, is just 90 short of the 3000-run mark in Test cricket. Amassing these runs, Rahane will become the 22nd Indian to score 3000 or more runs in Test cricket.

67 – Murali Vijay needs to score 67 more runs to achieve the feat of 4000 runs in the history of Test cricket. Garnering these runs, he will become the 16th Indian to accomplish this feat.