Talk about bouncing back, England showcased a fantastic example of it against India at the Leeds. The fast and furious pitch of Headingley turned out to be a nightmare for the Indian batsmen as even two innings were not sufficient to match the score of the hosts.
Yes, from an Indian perspective the result serves as a huge shock, considering the stylish victory just a few days before in Lords. However, what this now means is that the 5-match series is now wide open and the encounter at Kennington Oval will be all to play for both teams.
“We need to correct our flaws quickly and we've done this before, and we look forward to the Oval Test.”
- Virat Kohli, Indian skipper
India, indeed have been in these situations on numerous occasions and they do have the experience and line-up to bounce back. But can they do it against the English side that seems to be in perfect shape? Can the shaky middle-order of India come together?
Hello and welcome to The Oval. Our venue for the 4th Test against England.
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 31, 2021
It's been a damp morning so far.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/LmeFqxjGkw
Match Toss Time: 10:30 Local (15:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 11:00 Local (15:30 IST)
Match Venue: Kennington Oval, London
Head to Head
Matches Played: 129, England: 49, India: 30, Draw: 50
Weather conditions
The conditions are well in favor of cricket as clear skies are expected throughout the course of the game, with just the fourth day likely to be an exception as a slight shower is expected to play a guest role later in the noon. The temperature is expected to be hovering in 21-15 degrees celsius and humidity at the peak is likely to touch the 85% mark.
Pitch Report
A venue that has great historic value to English as the first-ever venue to host a Test match in the UK. The pitch is known for being batsmen friendly for the first two days and the conditions then tilt in favor of the pacers. Said that, playing out the first session of Day 1 will be the tricky part and the team winning the toss should be looking to bat first but make sure the openers play out the first session without any damage.
Team News
England have made quite a few changes in their squad for the upcoming Test. Wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler has been replaced by Ollie Pope. Furthermore, the inclusion of Chris Woakes means that he would be in action in place of like-to-like all-rounder Sam Curran.
India on the other hand have huge decisions to make. The most important one being the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane. The Indian vice-captain has been having a rough patch and he is well in due for a break to repair himself.
Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw are available for the grab but with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma doing a good job at the top, we are likely to see Suryakumar Yadav make his debut in the longest format.
Probable Playing Xl
England (ENG): Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root(C), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope (wk), Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali/Craig Overton, James Anderson, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson
India (IND): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(C), Ajinkya Rahane/ Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja/ Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
Must-Picks
There is no confusion over picking the English skipper Joe Root and Indian opener Rohit Sharma in your fantasy lineup. Both the batsman have been in tremendous form and they are certain o add value to your team.
KL Rahul after a wonderful batting display at Lords failed to make an impact at Leeds. However, he is a must-have in your line-up as given it is his day he could score big. Another must-have in your side could be Ollie Robinson, the 27-year old has been picking wickets at will and is likely to continue the form.
Key Stats
# England are just one win away from notching their 50th win against India in Tests. England will also become the first team to score 50 wins against Team India in the longest format.
# Rohit Sharma is now just 91 runs away from scoring 3000 Test runs. He will become the 23rd Indian to achieve the 3k milestone in the red-ball format.
# Jasprit Bumrah finds himself three wickets short of the 100 scalps in Tests. While his pace partner Mohammaed Shami is 5 wickets away from picking 200 Test wickets.
# The English skipper is en route to setting new records since the beginning of this calendar year. With 1398 runs to his name in 2021, he is now just 390 runs away from overhauling the record of Mohammad Yusuf, who amasses 1788 runs in the year 2006.
England vs India Fantasy team
Captain and Vice-captain picks
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