India vs England | India’s predicted XI for Trent Bridge Test
BCCI
After being battered by the Englishmen in the Lord’s Test, India find themselves in a do-or-die situation as they take on the hosts in Nottingham in a bid to save the series. While the weather seems to hold up well, pacers may get some benefits from the green track that Trent Bridge has to offer.
Openers
Murali Vijay: If things have been tough for Indian openers, it is tougher for Vijay. An excellent player of cover drive, Vijay, this time, has failed to open his stance and thus disabling himself from playing those flicks and leg glances. Virat Kohli may hand him one more chance at the pacer-friendly climes of Nottingham, but a failure this now may be the final nail on his coffin.Â
KL Rahul: While both Vijay and Rahul looked at sea against the moving ball, India might opt to give Rahul a longer run considering the opener hasn’t gotten more chances lately. As an opener, he has to let go off most balls but can’t leave the chances when the ball is pitched full. He has lacked conviction in the series so far and for India to salvage some pride in the series, he has to be at his best.Â
Middle-order:
Cheteshwar Pujara: While the common consciousness has been that Pujara is a terrible batsman overseas, it is actually not true as proved by his insane average of 91 against the moving ball. But, what he is lacking is the confidence to take on bowlers which adds more pressure on him than the pacers, who know a chance would come sooner than later.Â
Virat Kohli: The back strain dented Kohli in the second innings of the second Test, but as he revealed, he is ready to go and breathe fire. He is the only Indian batsman to have shown some sort of character on the field and upon him lies India’s fortunes. However, the Indian talisman has to beware of James Anderson, who becomes a beast of a bowler at Trent Bridge, always.Â
Ajinkya Rahane: The main man behind India’s hopes to win overseas crown has been horrible so far. Rahane lacked the application that had made him one of the finest batsmen on difficult conditions. The Indian vice-captain, who had scored an eye-catching century to lead India to a Test victory at Lord’s in 2014, needs to pull up his socks today.Â
Rishabh Pant: Dinesh Karthik's batting form has been as bad as it could ever be and that made Rishabh Pant a prime contender for a debut. In the practice session, Karthik was feeding balls to Pant during the wicket-keeping drills and the latter was the first to get a go in the batting practice as well.Â
All-rounders:
Hardik Pandya: The wicket has perennially been pacer-friendly and the 2014 India-England one was a one-off bore-fest. Although the track has been flattened enough to suit to their limited-overs side in the last four years, a pacer, especially for a Test match, will indeed be helpful for India. Agreed that Hardik hasn't done enough to deserve a place, but those 20-22 runs are still invaluable at the current situation.
R Ashwin: In the first Test, Ashwin dismantled the Englishmen with his variations and proved his worth in the team set-up. Although the conditions were against him in the Lord’s Test, he contributed with the bat as well. His selection is a no-brainer.
Pacers
Mohammed Shami: Shami bowled purposefully in the first two Tests and showed that if the conditions are in his
Ishant Sharma: The Delhi pacer just needs another five wickets to secure 250 wickets - a simple illustration of his largely underwhelming career that saw him donning India whites for as many as 84 times. However, numbers don’t tell the story of what he brings to the table. He is the lynchpin of the bowling attack, although some may get reluctant to put a tag on it. He will have another big role to play in the third Test.
Jasprit Bumrah: After missing out on the limited-overs and Test series, Bumrah is expected to be back in the side for the Test starting today and his extra nip and bounce will certainly be of great help for the Indians. Expect him to come all guns blazing.
