India against England, 4th Test Preview: India Looks To Recover From Massive Loss In Leeds

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Thursday, 2nd September 2021

The form of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and the likely participation of veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be scrutinised as India looks to move on from their Leeds fiasco in the fourth Test, which begins on Thursday at the Oval. The series' high of an inspirational triumph at Lord's was followed by back-to-back batting disasters at Headingley, and the penultimate game at the Oval will undoubtedly have an influence on both teams as the series nears its conclusion. With the series tied at 1-1, skipper Virat Kohli remarked that a win at Lord's didn't ensure a win in the next Test, and that a defeat at Headingley didn't guarantee an encore at the Oval.

The Indian captain, not one to believe that outside voices (fans and experts) should be taken seriously, knows that something is wrong with his batting unit, and the main issue is the performance of his three middle-order stalwarts — the skipper himself, Cheteshwar Pujara, and his deputy Rahane.

Pujara may have redeemed himself with a 91-run knock that ranked high on the "intent quotient," but Rahane's form remains fragile despite a critical 61 in the second innings at Lord's.

Rahane would almost certainly be given another shot, but his inconsistency has cost this team dearly over the last two years.

Many people have found it perplexing that even a hundred at Melbourne or a fifty at Lord's hasn't instilled confidence in him, and he has never appeared to be in any sort of shape.

Although a feisty strokeplayer like Suryakumar Yadav or an orthodox batter like Hanuma Vihari might provide some vitality to the middle-order, a total of 95 runs in five innings at an average of 19 is not an indication of Rahane's abilities.

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Rahane would almost certainly be given another shot, but his inconsistency has cost this team dearly over the last two years.

One example is his refusal to compromise on the five-bowler idea despite batting failures, with the exception of openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul (who had a poor third Test). Ravindra Jadeja, who has two wickets from three games in this series, has mostly batted as a No. 7 batsman whose willow-wielding talents are regarded as significantly superior to those of Ashwin, who is arguably the best spinner in the world at the present.

The Oval pitch has historically favoured spinners, therefore Ashwin, who took a six-wicket haul in a county game for Surrey (vs Somerset), might bring his 400+ wicket expertise to challenge the English batsmen who have previously been leery of him.

However, Kohli, who has a penchant for four-pacers, may opt to replace an off-colour Ishant Sharma with Shardul Thakur, a stronger all-rounder, and it remains to be seen whether Ashwin replaces Jadeja, who hasn't been penetrative enough.

Similarly, the skipper has stated that he will be scrutinising the workloads of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, both of whom have bowled over 100 overs in the series thus far.

If their middle-order is a cause for concern, the form of opponent skipper Joe Root, who has already amassed almost 500 runs in only three games with a hat-trick of hundreds, is sure to keep them awake at night.

If Ashwin is given a chance, Root vs. Ashwin will be a match that many cricket fans will eagerly await.

Dawid Malan was in fantastic form for England in his comeback match. Add in Mark Wood's searing pace and Chris Woakes' incisive swing bowling, and James Anderson should be able to manage his workload. Jos Buttler has taken a break since his wife is expecting their second child, so Jonny Bairstow is likely to keep wickets.

England, on the other hand, has sufficient resources to cause India problems.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur

England: Joe Root (C), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Dawid Malan, Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source

NDTV