England vs India 2018: 5 Reasons Why India will make a comeback in the Test Series

India thrashed England by 203 runs in the Third Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham thereby handling Joe Root and his boys a huge defeat.

Early in the day on Day 5, India wrapped up the last wicket of James Anderson within 17 balls, dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin when he was caught at slip by Ajinkya Rahane, finally ending the resistance put up by the English tailenders, Adil Rashid and James Anderson.

Rashid and Broad stitched together a 50-run partnership for the eighth wicket, to frustrate Indian captain Virat Kohli on day four and extend the inevitable till the final day. England's lead in the series now stands at 2-1.

Barring partisan Indian fans and cricket pundits, hardly anyone would have expected Virat Kohli and his lads to come back so hard on the Englishmen at Trent Bridge.

If it was a collective performance by the Indians, then it was equally a collective failure by the Englishmen whose batting unit completely surrendered in the first innings.

With the Nottingham result, the Test series opens up again (England leading 2-1) as India makes a strong point that they are well-acclimatized to the English conditions and that Lord’s Test defeat was an aberration as the Edgbaston Test was a well-contested affair!

There are five reasons that justify India making a strong comeback in the Test series. Let’s analyze them one by one:

---

#1 Indian batsmen starting to contribute

Captain Virat Kohli has put behind the ghosts of 2014 to score his 23rd Test ton.

Until the end of Second Test, the Indian team management had a lot to worry for the sorry state of performance put up by the batsmen barring captain Virat Kohli who alone contributed with the bat, not only becoming the leading run-getter for India but also in the series.

Kohli alone had to take up the burden of added responsibility of the batting as the openers failed to put up a good stand on all the four innings. India had to shuffle with the batting combination as the Dhawan-Vijay and Vijay-Rahul pair failed in both the Tests.

Moreover, the middle-order also looked fragile as Ajinkya Rahane flattered to deceive with his batting in overseas conditions. All these were put to rest in the ongoing Test as India’s reliable No. 3, Cheteshwar Pujara, finally came up with runs scoring a valuable 72 runs in the second innings that included nine fours.

Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane also was back among the runs after dismal performances in the previous Tests. He made an eye-catching 81 runs in the first innings that included 12 fours. He forged a match-winning 159-runs stand with captain Kohli to bail India out from a tricky situation when they were 82-3 at lunch on Day one.

But what pleased Virat the most was the opening stands that the Dhawan-Rahul pair put up in both the innings i.e. 60 runs in both the innings.

#2 Indian bowlers’ superior form over their English counterparts

India outbowled England in the third Test

The depleted Indian bowling unit led by the experienced Ishant Sharma did whatever they could for India to win, but it was hard to come as the batsmen continued to disappoint.

However, with the return of Jasprit Bumrah, the bowling got the boost as the fast bowler chipped in with 2-37 and 5-85 in his comeback match after recovering from a thumb injury.

With the victory at Nottingham Test, the deadly quartet of Ishant, Bumrah, Shami and Pandya would like to repeat their performance and put more pressure on the struggling English batsmen. Barring Shami, the rest have already taken a 5-fer once in the series so far. However, India will miss the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has been now ruled out from the remaining two Tests as well.

On the other hand, the English bowlers led by the ageing duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad will find it difficult to match sword with sword with to their Indian counterpart.

#3 Hardik Pandya’s all-round form

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya’s selection in Tests as a reliable all-rounder has always been questioned by critics time and again ever since he made his debut in whites.

But with Virat Kohli showing full faith in him, the all-rounder from Baroda struck form in the ongoing series by taking a match-defining 5-28 in the first innings which saw England folding out for a meagre 161 runs.

He also became the quickest Indian to take a 5-for in Tests as this achievement came in a space of 29 balls. Secondly, he also added a valuable run-a-ball 52 runs in the second innings that sky-rocketed India’s total to 352/7, with the lead of 521 runs beyond England’s reach.

#4 Captain Virat Kohli’s imperious form with the bat

Virat Kohli was the man of the match

Virat Kohli put all the ghosts of his last England tour of 2014 behind by scoring two centuries in three Tests and narrowly missing the third; bringing up his 23rd Test ton. The Indian captain addressed his arrival with a glittering 149 runs in the first innings in Edgbaston following it up with a lone fighting score of 51 in the second innings, which couldn’t take India to victory.

Following the Lord’s aberration (24 & 17), he was back among the runs as he notched up match-winning knocks of 97 & 103 in the Nottingham Test. He is leading the run-aggregate tally with 440 runs with a healthy average of over 80.00 in three Tests with two to come.

His commanding form will continue to haunt the hosts’ bowling unit led by James Anderson.

#5 England’s batting woes

Keaton Jennings and Alastair Cook have struggled

England continue to get hurt by the poor form of their opening pair in premier batsman Alastair Cook and out-of-form Keaton Jennings failing to give England the desired start they want barring the 54-runs stand in the first innings of this Test. Rumours are certain that Jennings might get dropped from the remaining two Tests. Captain Joe Root has also been inconsistent with just a single knock of 80 runs finding some worth.

Apart from this, in-form wicket-keeper batsman, Jonny Bairstow is likely to be ruled out with a finger injury which will dent England’s chances of winning the series at Ageas Bowl. The already out-of-form Dawid Malan will continue to warm the benches as Ollie Pope might get another chance.

However, England will be happy if Josh Buttler, all-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, continue to perform in the next Test. There seems every chance for Edgbaston Test hero ‘Sam Curran’ to make a comeback in Bairstow’s absence as white-ball specialist Buttler will hone the gloves in the remaining Tests.