India vs England | Predicted XI for the fourth Test at Southampton

India vs England | Predicted XI for the fourth Test at Southampton

no photo

After trailing 2-0 in the ongoing series against England, India pulled off a memorable win at Trent Bridge to ensure an exciting climax to the five-match series. As things go, this might be the first time that Virat Kohli will field an unchanged playing XI in the 39 matches he played as captain.

Openers:

Shikhar Dhawan: The left-handed Indian opener justified his spot in the starting XI as he scored 35 in the first innings and narrowly missed out on a half-century as he got to 44 in the second. Dhawan and Rahul gave the Indians the start they missed out in the first two games, and skipper Kohli will not want to miss out on their explosive energy at the crease.

KL Rahul: After two disappointing outings at number three, the RCB batsman was allowed to open the innings in the third Test at Trent Bridge. In both the innings, the right-handed youngster put up a 60-run partnership with Dhawan at the other end as Rahul notched up scores of 23 and 36 respectively. 

Middle-order:

Cheteshwar Pujara: The Saurashtra-born batsman’s inclusion in the Indian team was highly controversial and the fact that he was not included in the first Test was a cause for concern in the first place itself. However, Pujara proved his doubters wrong as he impressed in the third Test with a hard-fought 72 in the second innings at Trent Bridge. The Indian coach will hope that he can repeat that in the fourth Test as India aim for a win.

Virat Kohli: The highest-run getter in the ongoing series, Virat Kohli will certainly look to build on his performance of the third Test where he scored a brilliant 97 and 103 which also saw him win the man of the match award. Having left behind the ghost of 2014, Kohli will look to lead India to a historic comeback against Joe Root & Co. as they aim to level the series at Southampton. This might also be the first time that the 29-year old will field the same playing XI in a Test match ever since he took the reins from MS Dhoni in late 2017.

Ajinkya Rahane: Kohli’s trusted deputy in the Test side, Ajinkya Rahane, has not been in the best of touch in the ongoing Test series against the three lions. However, Rahane scored 110 runs across the two innings at Trent Bridge to provide Kohli some backing at the crease. Ravi Shastri and the rest of the Indian management will hope that he can continue his form so as to allow Kohli to play a more carefree game at Southampton.

Rishabh Pant: The Delhi-born youngster became the first Indian batsman to open his account in Test cricket with a six. He played a crucial role in the Indian innings, not just with his batting, but behind the stumps as well. Pant was involved in five dismissals in the third Test as he stepped up in the absence of Dinesh Karthik quite brilliantly.

All-rounder:

Hardik Pandya: The Baroda all-rounder is an important member of the Indian team, but that shouldn’t come in the way of his improvement. Pandya has been strong with the bat during the series but his real value can be seen in his bowling figures. Pandya picked up a fifer in the first innings to put England in trouble and scored 52* in the second innings at Trent Bridge. Pandya is Kohli’s go-to man in crunch situations and will be crucial in the last two games for India.

Spinners:

Ravichandran Ashwin: The Indian veteran has been in fine form in the ongoing series as he grabbed the chance given by Shastri and Kohli to him with both hands ever since the first Test in England. After injury concerns in the build-up to the game, Kohli revealed that the former world number one bowler is fit to feature in the fourth Test as India will count on him to pester the English batsmen with his smart bowling.

Pacers:

Ishant Sharma: 29-year old Delhi pacer, Ishant Sharma, has truly been a leader in the absence of the injured Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Although he might not have the wickets to show for it, but the veteran bowler has been a constant threat to the English batsmen all throughout the series so far. His ability to bowl long spells is undoubtedly a huge asset to Kohli & Co. and he will certainly be India’s dark horse in the remainder of the series.

Jasprit Bumrah: Bumrah made a comeback from a finger injury in the third Test and picked up a total of seven wickets across two innings at Trent Bridge, which also included a fifer in the second innings. In the absence of Bhuvaneshwar, Kohli will hope that the young Indian bowler can rack up some early wickets along with Ishant and Pandya at Southampton.

Mohammed Shami: Shami missed out on the ODI series after he failed the BCCI-mandated yo-yo test but made a comeback to the Test squad as he worked on his fitness in the gap between. One of India's leading pacers in the longer format, Shami has been hitting the deck hard to offer the Indians some wickets early on in the innings with the new ball. He will be Kohli's strike bowler at Southampton, especially early on in both innings.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all