IND vs ENG: India playing 11 against England for the third Test
The third match of the five-match Test series between India and England will be played on Thursday at the historic Lord’s ground. By winning this Test, the Indian team will try to take a 2-1 lead over England. England won by five wickets in Leeds, while Team India created history by winning by 336 runs in Edgbaston. One change is certain in the Indian team for the third Test. Jasprit Bumrah may return. At the same time, the team management also has to consider whether to give Kuldeep Yadav a chance or not. The third Test match will start at 3:30 pm Indian time.
Jasprit Bumrah’s return will strengthen
Bumrah’s return will put the host team’s batsmen to a tough test. Although India lost in Leeds, the team has maintained its dominance for most of the time in both the matches so far. If the Indian team had not dropped some catches in the first Test and the lower order batsmen had performed well, Team India would have been ahead 2-0 in the series. Given the inexperience of the Indian team under the leadership of new captain Shubman Gill, it seemed that the England team would dominate it, but looking at the way India has performed so far, the team has not missed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli so far. This also shows India’s strong bench strength.
Fast bowlers expected to get swing at Lord’s
The mountain of runs scored by Gill and Co. forced Ben Stokes to rethink his strategy of preparing a flat pitch to knock the opposition out of the match. The tremendous success of Indian batsmen on flat pitches has proved to be detrimental for the host team. Now they may have to play on a wicket that is expected to have good seam and swing movement. Apart from this, there is also the unique challenge of slope at the prestigious Lord’s.
Also Read: IND vs ENG 3rd Test Pitch report, McCullum is getting a special pitch made
Karun Nair can be trusted again at number three
The batsmen of the Indian team have looked in good form so far. However, the problem with number three is still going on. Sai Sudarshan did not look anything special in the first Test, after which he was dropped for the second Test. In the second Test, Karun Nair got a good start at number three, but he could not convert it into a big innings. He looked a bit uncomfortable in front of the bouncing balls. However, he can be continued for the third Test as well. The team management will not try to tamper much with the winning combination.
The trio of Akash-Siraj and Bumrah would have been lethal
England will try to test Yashasvi Jaiswal with short pitch balls. However, a fearless batsman like Yashasvi has the power to hit sixes off bowlers on any pitch. Prasidh Krishna may have to look out for the way out on Bumrah’s return. He has not been seen in full form so far. After Leeds, serious question marks were raised on the Indian fast bowlers, but Akash Deep and Mohammad Siraj showed in the second Test that they are no less than anyone. Now Bumrah’s trio with these two gives a powerful look to the attack.
India’s probable playing-11
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.
England’s announced playing-11
Ben Stokes (captain), Jack Crowley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.
