India scripted a turnaround and crafted a nerve-wracking moment for England, a nightmare which the hosts would find hard to put behind. For India, this test victory could be considered close to the Gabba breach as the match had numerous twists throughout.
The first day belonged to India, the second and third day belonged to England courtesy of Root's brilliant innings of 180*. The fourth day was even because the precarious situation was salvaged by the middle-order duo- Pujara and Rahane.
It was the fifth day that Bumrah and Shami stitched together a remarkable 89 runs partnership and 50 overs of fiery pace bowling which sealed the coffin of England.
Turning the heat 🔥🔛 at Headingley 🏟️💪🏻#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/cxNjZFIqh0
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 22, 2021
Match timings and where to watch?
Match toss time: 15:00 IST (10:30 Local)
Match start time: 15:30 IST (11:00 Local)
Match venue: Headingley, Leeds
Streaming on: Sony Liv app and Sony Ten HD 1,2
Head to Head
| Matches Played | England | India | Draw |
| 128 | 48 | 30 | 50 |
Take Away from 2nd Test
India
India has the pace attack which can be compared to the West Indies bowling attack that was led by Clive Lloyd. Everyone bowled at 140+ and threw bouncers at will. They can be compared to Holding, Marshall, Garner, and Andy Roberts with regards to their vigor and perseverance.
The middle order, which was cracking and everyone was gunning for Pujara and Rahane, is finally waking up from slumber and now India is likely to start scoring 400+scores and dominate the series. The fate of Ashwin is likely to remain the same as Leed’s is once again expected to be in favor of the pacers.
England
We had mentioned in our previous article that English batting is brittle and they can be cracked, and a huge chunk of the winning chances depends on how Root plays on the given day.
English bowling is no longer potent unless Anderson finds himself taking wickets. Anderson will no longer be the same bowler as he had too much workload, which was quite evident in the previous encounter.
Sam Curran has been a great asset in the limited-overs but is yet to prove a point in the longest format. He is likely to be replaced by a like-to-like all-rounder in the squad- Craig Overton.
India’s performance at Leeds, Headingley
India have always had a horrible time at the fast and furious pitch of Headingley and they lost three tests in a row. However, the fortunes turned in 1986, when Dilip Vengsarker hit a century to win the test in a low-scoring match. Next India played in 2002 and 3 centurions Tendulkar 193, Dravid 148, and Sourav 128 made mincemeat of English attack and scored 628 for 8 and India won by an innings and 46 runs.
Headingley is the home pitch of Yorkshire and boasts of good bounce and movement. In 2019, it will be remembered as Stokes's match when England after scoring 67 runs in the first innings, went on to win the match by a narrow margin of 1-wicket, courtesy of Ben Stokes who scored a remarkable 135* to steer England to a memorable victory.
| Matches Played | India | England | Draw |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Pitch
So the pitch will have bounce and movement for all 5 days if the match lasts. The average first innings score for County cricket is 218 and it is definitely a tough pitch to bat on. The second innings average is 251 so it doesn't matter whether you bat, first or second. The toss is not expected to play any role but the overcast conditions will.
Team News and Probable Playing Xl
India will go with no change as the middle order is becoming better. Supporters of Ashwin and Surya Kumar Yadav will have to wait.
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Haseeb is likely to retain his spot and open with Rory Burns. The inclusion of Dawid Malan will see him take up the third position. Craig Overton will replace Sam Curran and the rest of the team will remain the same. The injury of Mark Wood also comes as a huge blow for the English side, he is expected to be replaced by young speedster Saqib Mahmood.
England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Saqib Mahmood, James Anderson
Weather
No downpours or thunderstorms are expected and at least four and half days of cricket will be played to ensure a good result.
Prediction
India will have a lead of around 100 runs in the first innings to be in dominating position. We expect India to score 400+runs in the first innings. Pacers will do the damage again and are likely to take India 2-0 up. The second test loss has dented the morale and self-belief of England and they may find it very tough to recover from the dismal performance.
Cricwizz predicts India to win the Test lead the 5-match series, 2-0.
So enjoy the Indian dominance on British soil, a rarity seldom imagined.
Happy Viewing
