"I suppose the Indian media was very confident that it's going to be 5-0" - Ian Bell believes the series hangs in the balance 

Former England cricketer Ian Bell feels that Ben Stokes and company have answered a lot of their critics with their performance in the Test series against India. The five-match Test series is well poised at 1-1, with the third Test in Rajkot scheduled to begin on February 15.

The Men in Blue were dubbed the strong favorites during the build-up to the series, considering their impressive home record as well as the fact that 'Bazball' was untested in trademark subcontinent conditions.

England went against the script to record a historic win in the series opener in Hyderabad, and even though they slumped to defeat in the second Test in Vishakapatnam, they made the hosts work pretty hard for the win.

“I suppose the Indian media was very confident that it's going to be 5-0 before the series started. No doubt that this India team is worried about this England side, which is great. I think England have thrown some real punches to push India back,” Bell said on the Sky Sports Podcast.

“It's going to come down to again, someone like Ollie Pope did in that first game to get a big hundred, that's really important to really put yourself in the game, but they look threatening,” Bell added.

Ollie Pope scored a brilliant 196-run knock in the second innings of the first Test in Hyderabad to stretch England's lead, which eventually laid down the foundation for the 28-run victory.

"I feel there will be a bit more pressure at the moment on India" - Ian Bell

Team India have arguably never been under more pressure in a home series, given that they find themselves putting out several fires at the moment.

Virat Kohli's unavailability, coupled with injury issues to key players Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul leave the Men in Blue quite vulnerable, something with Ben Stokes hopes to take full advantage of.

The hosts have a slew of inexperienced names in their team now, who will have to step up in desperate times. Ian Bell opined that India will be under pressure in the upcoming third Test despite the scoreline reading 1-1 so far.

“I think the Indian lineup has got an amazing amount of talent, but again, there will be doubt there. Not that they don’t have the talent and ability, but I feel there will be a bit more pressure at the moment on India. Let’s hope so. But it's in the balance right now. But I think if someone can do what Ollie Pope did in the first Test, we can put pressure on India," Bell concluded.

Team India will be without KL Rahul for the third Test as he continues to recover while Shreyas Iyer has been omitted for the rest of the series. As a result, a debutant in the form of either Sarfaraz Khan or Devdutt Padikkal is imminent.