After a month-long break, the Indian test team is all set to take on England in the first of the five-match Test series, starting from August 4 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The Indian team is up against a huge challenge, as they have not won a Test series in England since 2007.

A look at the wicket three days out from the 1st Test at Trent Bridge.

Thoughts 🤔#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/hcUrP3NzbX

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 1, 2021

Head to Head in test matches, England has a huge upper hand. They have won 48 matches, while the Indian team has won 29 of the 126 tests played. The statistics get worse when we look at India’s performance in England. They have lost 34 Test matches out of 62. The Indian players need to pull their socks up, to change their fortunes this time around. The first conundrum will be to maintain the perfect balance in the playing XI.

Let’s take a look at India’s predicted playing XI for the first test match:

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is a certain starter in India’s playing XI for the first test match. Though he has just played two test matches in England, averaging 24.50, his record in Test matches in the last two years speaks volumes about his improved technique.

Rohit Sharma averages 44.83 in test cricket this year. He was the second highest-run getter for the country in the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship. In the WTC finals against New Zealand, Rohit gave India assured starts batting up the order. The opener will have to play a major role in laying a foundation for the Indian batting line-up.

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KL Rahul

A new batting pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will open the Indian innings in the first test. The regular opener, Shubman Gill sustained an injury and has been ruled out of the tour. Whereas, Mayank Agarwal, who was expected to replace Gill was hit on the helmet while batting in the nets on Tuesday and thus will miss the first test.

KL Rahul has scored 299 runs in five matches at an average of 29.90 in England. He scored a Hundred recently playing in the warm-up match against the County Select XI.  India’s tour of England 2021, is an opportunity for KL Rahul to cement his place back in the Indian Test team.

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Cheteshwar Pujara

The Wall of the Indian batting line-up Cheteshwar Pujara will have the arduous job of holding together the batting attack together. He averaged nearly 40 on India’s tour of England in 2018 with 278 in four matches.

Pujara tires out the opposition bowlers, which allows him and the others to dominate the proceedings. The right-hander is one of India’s batting mainstays. He averages 53.59 in the matches that the team has won since his debut.

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Virat Kohli

India’s skipper Virat Kohli will be the center of attention in the upcoming test series. After a disastrous England tour of 2014, he made a stupendous comeback in the 2018 tour.

Kohli was the highest run-getter on the tour with 593 runs in five matches at an average of 59.30. Among the Indian batting line-up, Kohli has the highest average of 45.84 in England. The Indian team will be hopeful of their skipper, continuing his good run in English conditions.

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Ajinkya Rahane

India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has come under scrutiny for his lack of consistency at the International level. He averages 21.91 this year in test matches. However, Rahane was India’s highest run-getter in the recent ICC World Test Championship cycle.

Also Read: Is Ajinkya Rahane Slowly Losing His Footing In The Indian Team?

The right-hander missed the warm-up match against County Select XI in Durham last week due to hamstring concerns. But seems to have recovered as he was seen practicing in the nets during India’s training session. Rahane’s compact technique and his knack for performing when the chips are down makes him one of the players to watch out for this series.

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Rishabh Pant

The return of Rishabh Pant to the team after recovering from the covid-19 virus is a major boost for India. The wicket-keeper batsman made his debut at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on India’s tour of England 2018.

Pant scored a hundred the last time he batted against England in England. In the last few years, he has established himself as an asset for the Indian team in tests. The wicket-keeper batsman averages 56.00 this year in test matches. The England team will be wary of his ability to change the game within a session.

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Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to be the lone spinner in the Indian playing XI. He is in the form of his life. Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker in the inaugural season of the World Test Championship

In 2021, the off-spinner has picked up 38 wickets in six test matches at an average of 18.02. Recently, playing for Surrey in the County Championship, Ashwin picked up 6 for 27 runs. The fact that a lot of emphasis has been given to pacers in English conditions, Ashwin will be a major factor in India’s bowling line-up.

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Shardul Thakur

Given the conditions in England, Shardul Thakur is expected to get a look in ahead of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. This is Shardul Thakur’s first tour of England with the Indian squad.

In a short test career so far, Shardul has proved to be a handy batsman batting lower down the order. He has picked seven wickets in two test matches at an average of 23.42.

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Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah will lead India’s pace bowling attack in the test series. He has picked up 14 wickets in four test matches in England at an average of 32.50.

The right-arm pacer has been skipper Virat Kohli’s go-to man in difficult situations. A lot of onus will be on him to help India win its first series in England in 14 years.

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Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma is the most experienced of the bowlers in the Indian team. He has taken 46 wickets in 13 Test matches in England at an average of 33.19.

Ishant was India’s highest wicket-taker on the tour of England in 2018, bagging 18 wickets in five matches. The Indian team will bank on his experience in the series.

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Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami could prove to be a dangerous bowler in English conditions. He has 25 wickets in nine matches at an average of 43.80 in England.

Shami will have an opportunity to better his stats in the upcoming test series. The three Indian pacers will be key to India’s success in the series.

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