England vs India 2018: 5 Things to look forward to in the upcoming Test series

India’s much-anticipated and much-awaited 11-week England tour has seen two limited-overs series go by. And at the end of 6 limited-overs games (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs), things stand pretty even. India got the better of England in the T20I series beating them 2-1 while the No. 1 ODI team England showed why they are the top ODI side in the world when they came from behind and beat Virat Kohli and co 2-1.

Now, the focus shifts to the Test series. There has been a big build-up to this 5-match Test series. India have named an 18-man squad while England are yet to confirm their side. England absolutely demolished India in the last two series in England. In 2011, the hosts whitewashed India 4-0 and in 2014, despite having a 1-0 lead after the first two Tests, they lost to Alastair Cook’s England 1-3.

This will be a stern test for Virat Kohli and his team but don’t forget, England haven’t been in the best red-ball form in the last few years and have been quite inconsistent. In fact, since the start of 2014, they have won three consecutive Test matches only twice.

Hence, it promises to be an enthralling and exciting series. Thus, with the Test series just over a week away, let’s look at some things to look forward to in this mega blockbuster series.

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Virat Kohli and his England record

Virat Kohli will be keen to break the England jinx.

England could well be termed as Virat Kohli’s final frontier in Test cricket. The Indian captain had a miserable tour in 2014 where he could only manage 134 runs in 10 innings. The England bowlers exploited his weakness outside the off-stump.

However, Virat Kohli is a very different batsman now. Since that England tour in 2014, the Indian skipper has scored 3699 runs in 61 innings at a super average of 64.89. He has scored 15 hundreds as well during this period. Moreover, he averages 58.46 away from home since that tour.

He was India’s best batsman when India toured South Africa earlier this year and there is no doubt that Kohli will once again be the key man in this 5-match Test series. Kohli wants to do well and it is evident from the fact that he wanted to play County cricket before this England tour. However, a neck injury ruled him out of his month-long stint at Surrey.

But Kohli seems to be in a good zone. He was India’s highest run-getter in the ODI series and seems to be in good shape. Hence, not only will Kohli want to better his record in England but also lead from the front.

Pitches and the weather

The pitches will play a key role in this series.

It’s been a rather warm summer in England this year. In fact, The United Kingdom is going through one of the hottest and driest summers and there’s a big heatwave going around.

As a result of which, the pitches have been quite dry and the spinners have been in the game more often. In fact, despite a tinge of grass at Lord’s in the second ODI, the spinners got assistance due to the dry nature of the surface. There are talks about how England might not give India a green top because it might just bring the Indian pace attack which did really well in South Africa into play. But if the pitches are devoid of grass, the Indian spinners come into picture and England have struggled against spin in recent times.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly also had his say on this dry England summer and wrote in one of his columns for The Times of India (TOI), “I have been travelling to England every year for the last 20-22 years and have not seen a summer like this. It is very, very hot and the typical moist English conditions is a far cry from what it usually is. It is more like playing in India.”

It will get cooler as the Test series progresses but if the weather continues to stay the way it is, India will not mind it one bit.

Hence, it will be very interesting to see what kind of pitch welcomes the two teams at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Will there be a green top or will England want just a tinge of grass or will the dry conditions prevail?

England's over-reliance on Anderson and Broad

Anderson and Broad have shouldered most of the responsibility.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have carried this England bowling attack for quite some time now. They have a staggering 950+ Test wickets between them. However, their fitness has been a cause of concern in recent times. Anderson has a shoulder problem while Broad injured his ankle during a County game.

Even though they will be fit before the first Test begins, there have been questions whether both of them can last the 5-Test match series. Both these premier pacers played all seven Test matches last winter in Australia and New Zealand. But their recent injuries might be a cause of concern for captain Joe Root and coach Trevor Bayliss.

Anderson has been England’s standout bowler in red-ball cricket. Since the start of 2017, Anderson has taken 73 wickets in 16 Tests. While Broad is second on the list with 49 wickets in the same number of matches. These two have done the bulk of the bowling and England haven’t had a consistent third seamer.

Chris Woakes, Toby Roland Jones and Craig Overton have been in and out of the team due to injuries and poor form. But none of them have managed to seal that third seamer’s spot. For now, it does look like Chris Woakes will most likely be that third fast bowler. However, even he is coming off an injury and it will be very interesting to see how England’s bowling attack shapes up and progresses in the series.

England’s fragile batting

England have had a bit of history of faltering with the bat in recent times, whether it’s at home or overseas. Pakistan exploited that early in the summer while Australia and New Zealand feasted on that weakness and gained convincing series victories.

England have heavily relied on Alastair Cook and skipper Joe Root over the last 18 months. Numbers back up this fact as well. These two are the only batsmen who have managed to score more than 1000 runs in Test cricket since the start of the year 2017. In fact, since 2017, only Joe Root and Jos Buttler (who has played just 2 Tests in the last two years) average over 50 in this England batting line-up.

Alastair Cook has had numerous opening partners with none of them cementing their spots. The No. 3 position has also seen quite a bit of chopping and changing. Joe Root just hasn’t been able to convert his fifties. Since 2017, Root has got 15 50+ scores in Test cricket but out of those only two have been hundreds. Dawid Malan has shown quite some promise but is pretty inconsistent. Ben Stokes has looked rusty since his return to red-ball cricket.

Hence, this England batting line-up has tended to crumble and India could exploit that chink.

India’s pace attack in the absence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah

Many have given India a good chance of registering a Test series victory in England mainly due to their pace attack. However, days before the first ball of the first Test, India have been dealt with a huge blow as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been ruled out due to injuries. While the former is out of the first three Tests, Bumrah could make a return in the second Test, but nothing (their return) is confirmed for the moment.

These two were the stars in South Africa and Bhuvneshwar was the standout bowler on that 2014 tour as well. However, despite these two missing out, India have a decent bowling attack. Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav – all of them have been around for a while now and they will look to bring in all their experience. Shami and Ishant were a part of the team on the last trip in 2014.

In fact, Ishant produced the one of the best spells of his career when he took 7/74 and bowled India to victory at Lord’s. He also played County cricket (for Sussex) earlier this year and his experience will be vital. He has worked hard with Jason Gillespie on his bowling and hence, will look to spearhead this Indian attack.

Shami hasn’t played competitive cricket for a while now. He last played a game for Delhi Daredevils on April 16th and since then injuries and fitness issues have kept him out. He returns to the squad after being dropped for the Afghanistan Test when he failed to clear the fitness test. Umesh Yadav has been around for a while now and has down well. But this will be his first stint in England.

Shardul Thakur is the other pacer in the line-up along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Hence, in the absence of their key pacers, this Indian pace attack will be tested.