After a historic win in the second Test match at Lord’s, India will be keen to further consolidate their lead in the test series. They will take on England in the third Test match on Wednesday, August 25 at Headingley, Leeds.
Lord's done 🤝🏻
Over to Leeds ✅#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/VzWDJVB1Qr— BCCI (@BCCI) August 16, 2021
In the second test match, the Indian pacers led a spirited comeback to help India win the Test by 151 runs. An 89-runs partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami set England a target of 271 runs in the fourth innings. The English batsmen failed to counter the attack of Indian pacers and succumbed to 120 runs.
Going into the third test match, both the teams will be hoping to put up a match-winning performance at Headingley, Leeds. Let’s take a look at the predicted playing XI of Team India for the third Test match against England.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul has had a stunning run in the series so far, scoring 244 runs in four innings at an average of 61.00. He ranks second on the table of Most runs scored in the Test series.
KL Rahul was awarded the Man of The Match, in the Lord’s test match for his outstanding 129 runs knock in the first innings. The right-handed batsman will be hoping to carry forward his form in the next test match.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma missed out on an opportunity to get a hundred in the second test match. He scored 83 runs and got together with KL Rahul to set up a 126 runs stand for the opening wicket, which led the platform for India to get to a substantial score.
Rohit Sharma is India’s second-highest run-scorer in the series with 152 runs in four innings at an average of 50.67. He will be keen to get to his first century against the red-ball on English soil in the upcoming test match.
Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara was under serious pressure coming into the second test match at the Lord’s cricket ground. He had a string of low scores this year, averaging in the late 20s. However, his skills and experience came in handy for India on day four of the Lord’s test match.
Cheteshwar Pujara played cautiously, scoring 45 runs off 206 deliveries. He partnered with Ajinkya Rahane, putting a 100-runs stand to dug India out of trouble.
Virat Kohli
India skipper Virat Kohli will be slightly disappointed with his batting performance in the last test match. He looked confident at the crease, scoring 42 runs off 103 deliveries, but could not convert it into a big one.
The skipper averages just 20.67 in three innings in this series so far. He will be hoping to turn the tide in his favour in the next Test match at Headingley, Leeds.
Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane faced severe criticism before the second Test owing to his inconsistent runs in test matches, over the last few years. However, in the Lord’s test, he once again proved, why he is called the crisis man of the Indian team.
The Indian vice-captain walked in at the crease at 55/3. He started off carefully, but after getting set tried to up the tempo slightly. Rahane scored 61 runs off 146 balls and was India’s top scorer in the innings.
Rishabh Pant
India’s wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant will be disappointed with his batting performance in the Lord’s test match. However, he was brilliant with his gloves behind the stumps, especially in the fourth innings.
Rishabh Pant has scored 84 runs in three innings so far, averaging 28. He will be keen to make an impact with his bat in the upcoming tie.
Ravindra Jadeja
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has not picked a single wicket in the series so far. But to be fair, to him, the pacers have done the job, due to which he hasn’t had the opportunity to bowl much.
However, with the bat, Ravindra Jadeja has made some vital contributions. He scored 40 runs in the first innings at Lord’s and has an average of 33 in the series so far. Jadeja will be hoping to continue his performance with the bat, and bag some crucial wickets for India in the third outing.
Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma’s performance was one of the biggest takeaways for India from the second Test at Lord’s. He missed the first test match and replaced the injured Shardul Thakur in the second.
Ishant Sharma picked up five wickets at Lord’s, including the likes of Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow. With his experience of bowling in English conditions, Ishant Sharma will play a key role for India in the upcoming test matches.
Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah had a memorable outing in the second Test for India at the Lord’s cricket ground. He did not pick up a single wicket in the first innings, however, his bouncer ploy against James Anderson was the talking point for many in the match.
A verbal war with Anderson fired up the Indian pacer, who took on the attack on the English bowlers with his bat. Bumrah scored 34 runs off 64 deliveries, including three boundaries. He also bagged three wickets in the fourth innings and played a vital role in India’s win at Lord’s.
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has impressed each and everyone with his bowling skills in the ongoing test series against England. He performed outstandingly well at Lord’s.
Mohammed Siraj took eight wickets in the test match, four-wicket hauls in each innings. He made early inroads in England’s batting line-up in the test match. Siraj has picked up 11 wickets in three innings so far at an average of 23.45. India will back the youngster, to continue his impressive runs in the series.
Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami’s fiery 56 runs knock in the third innings of the Lord’s Test shifted the momentum into India’s favour. He got together with Jasprit Bumrah to put up an 89-runs stand.
The partnership pushed the hosts on the back-foot, from where they could not recover. Mohammed Shami also picked up three wickets in the match. He has bagged seven wickets so far in three innings at an average of 29.71.
