'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
India will lock horns against England for a five-match Test series that will begin at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on August 4th. After facing a comprehensive defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the hands of New Zealand, a lot of questions have been raised about India's team combination.
India went in with five bowlers which consisted of two spinners. Naturally with conditions favoring swing bowling, the spinners as well as the seam-based pace attack struggled to penetrate the opposition batting.
India's batting has had its own struggles in England, with a number of players' places in the team reportedly under the scanner. Although there are quite a few issues with the Indian team at the moment, here are three bold predictions for this enthralling series.
#3 Shardul Thakur to replace one of the three frontline India pacers
India's three-pronged pace attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma has enjoyed a great time bowling together in overseas conditions over the past couple of years. They played a crucial role in India winning their first-ever Test series Down Under in 2018-19.
However, there was a notable decline in their output during the WTC final and it cost India dearly. Ishant looked rusty and Bumrah was far from his best. In conditions that supported swing bowling, India's two premier pacers struggled to find any help off the wicket, with only Shami remotely threatening the Kiwi batsmen.
Shardul Thakur has been touted as one of the names to make a surprise entry into India's playing XI. He had an excellent performance Down Under at the Gabba Test where he picked up seven wickets. Thakur was also brilliant with the bat, scoring an important 67 in the first innings.
Virat Kohli has been vocal about how badly India are missing a seaming all-rounder in Tests with Hardik Pandya not being fully fit to bowl at full throttle. However, India might just groom Thakur into that role and it could be the one missing piece in the jigsaw that could see India dominate England.
#2 Ajinkya Rahane to be dropped midway through the series
The glaring failures of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in India's WTC final loss to New Zealand have cast huge doubts over the duo's ability to score consistently. While Pujara can still perform the role of tiring opposition bowling attacks, Rahane is someone whose spot could be under threat.
Long gone seem the days when Rahane was India's premier batsman in overseas conditions. His sensational hundred as India's captain in last year's Boxing Day Test made everyone believe he was not far from his best. However, his inconsistency since then has been a major subject of debate.
With KL Rahul scoring a sensational hundred batting at No.5 in the warm-up game, there are many who feel the Karnataka batsman must start ahead of Rahane. While India's team management are unlikely to get rid of their vice-captain almost immediately, Rahane might be on his last lap in Tests if he doesn't perform in the first two Tests.
#1 India to win the series 3-2
India were thumped 4-1 the last time they toured England in Tests in 2018. Although skipper Virat Kohli scored a couple of hundreds, India's batting as a whole failed to score decent totals consistently.
India's inability to dismiss the opposition tail was another huge factor in England winning the series. The likes of Sam Curran frustrated the Indians with some useful runs down the order and that proved to be the difference between the two sides on a number of occasions.
While India's batting hasn't been that great coming into this series, the hosts too have their own issues in that department. The absence of Ben Stokes will be a huge factor as he was someone who provided incredible balance to the side with both bat and ball.
With a draw being an unlikely result given the vulnerabilities in both the batting line-ups, India might be acclimatized to the conditions having already been practicing on English shores for over a month. We expect India to just pip the hosts 3-2 in the series as a result.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
