Rampaging England aim to sew up series at Trent Bridge
Overview
England v India
Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test
Saturday, 18 August, 10:00 GMT, 11:00 local
Having won at Edgbaston and Lord's, England will step on to the field at Trent Bridge with the agenda of sealing the series, and they have it all going their way. Ben Stokes is back after missing the Lord's Test due to his court hearings in Bristol. James Anderson is in outstanding form. Stuart Broad, who had an indifferent outing at Edgbaston, came with a buzzing four-wicket spell at Lord's, and Chris Woakes, who walked in as Stokes' replacement, registered his maiden Test century and was among the wickets.
England have opted to leave 20-year old Sam Curran out of the side in place of the returning Stokes, in a decision that Joe Root described as 'one of the most difficult decisions' he has had to make as captain.
On the batting front, Jonny Bairstow registered his second half-century of the series at Lord's and fell marginally short of a century. That should give captain Root a lot of confidence ahead of this Test, as one of his problems seems to be the up-and-down top order that hasn't been among the runs so far. Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings will have the crucial responsibility of giving England a good start once again and Ollie Pope, who made his debut at Lord's will be looking to kick on and make a mark in the side.
For India, it has looked like a downward spiral with each passing session. They competed at Edgbaston, led magnificently by Virat Kohli, but lost on the fourth day by 31 runs. It was expected after the Edgbaston show that India will run England close once again at the venue where they registered a win – the only one – in 2014.
But the wheels seemed to come off, as India were bowled out for 107 and 130, losing by an innings and 159 runs, in what was a below-par batting show. No batsman crossed fifty across innings and there was only one 50-run partnership for the visitors in the entire match.
The bowling didn't help either. The first day was washed out due to rain and there were frequent rain interruptions on each of the following three days, even as England had better of the tough batting conditions that prevailed throughout the game.
The Indian openers failed once again, with Murali Vijay, the most experienced of them, bagging a pair. KL Rahul hasn't been able to do justice to his reputation. Cheteshwar Pujara, brought in at Lord's for Shikhar Dhawan, was involved in an unfortunate run out in the first innings and was bowled by a ripping in-swinger in the second innings.
Ajinkya Rahane, the vice-captain, failed to get going after having scored a hundred at the venue in 2014. Dinesh Karthik looked out of sorts as well. Only Hardik Pandya and Ravichandran Ashwin managed to offer some resistance to the England bowlers. The result was that India lasted for all of 82.2 overs across innings, while England played out 88.1 overs and weren't dismissed.
Things look grim for India at the moment, but coach Ravi Shastri said there's not a single 'negative bone' in the team and called for batsmen to show some grit. There might be a change or two, with talks of Rishabh Pant getting into the XI in place of one of the batsmen. Jasprit Bumrah, if fit, might also come in, possibly in place of Kuldeep Yadav.
Key players
James Anderson (England): If there has been one player who has looked infallible, it's Anderson. All Indian batsmen, even Kohli, have found it difficult against the veteran, who completed the milestone of picking up 100 Test wickets at Lord's. India will be wary.
Virat Kohli (India): The captain was hampered by a back injury in the previous game but is expected to be fit for the third Test. India's batting hopes rest heavily on his shoulders and the other Indian batsmen will hope that he becomes the pivot and they bat around him.
A maximum temperature of 24 degrees and a minimum of 16 degrees is expected on the first day with mild chances of rain on the second. The forecast for the rest of the days remains clear and we should get play without interruptions. The pitch at Trent Bridge is also expected to assist the seamers like it has been the case throughout the series.
Squad
England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Jamie Porter, Ben Stokes
India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur