Team India is all set to take on England in the fifth and final Test match starting on July 1 this year at Edgbaston Stadium. The tie was supposed to be played last year, however, due to a covid outbreak in the Indian team, it was postponed.
The five-match Test series stands at 2-1, with India leading after the first four Tests. The first of the five matches ended in a draw, following a win for India at Lord’s. England made a comeback to win the third test, while the fourth Test was won by India.
Before the start of the fifth test, the visitors will play a four-day warmup match against Leicestershire. The Indian selectors recently announced the squad for the fifth test match. Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara is back in the team, following his prolific county season with Sussex.
#TeamIndia Test squad for the fifth rescheduled Test against England 👇👇#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/USMRe0kj1i
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 22, 2022
It will be interesting to see the combination of the Indian playing XI for the final Test. On that note, let’s take a look at India’s predicted playing XI for the fifth (rescheduled) test against England starting on July 1.
India’s predicted playing XI for the fifth Test against England
Openers: Rohit Sharma (C) and KL Rahul
The fifth Test match between India and England will be skipper Rohit Sharma’s first overseas assignment in the red-ball format. He was handed the Test captaincy following Virat Kohli’s decision to step down from the responsibility.
Rohit Sharma has had a great run for India across formats in the last few years. He was the leading run-scorer for India in the first phase of the series. In four matches, the right-hander scored 368 runs at an average of 52.57.
His opening partner, KL Rahul too had a good first half. He averaged 39.38 in four matches, scoring 315 runs. The opening duo slammed a hundred each in the first half and will be key for India in the fifth test.
Middle Order: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk)
Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara is making a comeback to the Indian test squad. He was dropped for the home series against Sri Lanka, earlier this year. Pujara played for Sussex in the meantime, and scored tons of runs, making a strong case for a comeback.
On the other hand, former skipper Virat Kohli has been struggling to put up a big score. He could manage to perform consistently in the Indian Premier League. Last year, Kohli averaged 31.14 in four test matches in England. He will be hoping to step up for the team.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer will be playing his first overseas test match. He replaced an in-form Ajinkya Rahane at number five for the Sri Lanka tour. In a short test career so far, Iyer has performed impressively well. He averages 55.42 in four test matches in India.
Left-hand batter Rishabh Pant will handle the wicket-keeping duties in the fifth test match. He did not have a great outing in the first phase of the series. Pant scored 146 runs at an average of 20.86. However, the wicket-keeper has done well previously in these conditions and will back himself to repeat it.
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja could not make much of an impact in the first half of the test series. In four matches, he scored 160 runs at an average of 20.86. With the ball, Jadeja took six wickets at an average of 45.33.
On the other hand, Shardul Thakur performed well for India. He scored 117 runs in two matches, at an average of 39. He also did well with the ball, taking seven wickets in two games. Both the players will be key for India in the fifth match.
Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah will lead India’s pace attack against England in the fifth test match. He had a brilliant outing in the first half, taking 18 wickets in four matches. His stats include one five-wicket and one four-wicket haul. Bumrah was the second leading wicket-taker in the series in the first phase.
Along with him, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav will shoulder the bowling responsibilities. Both are in decent form and did well for their respective teams in the Indian Premier League. Last year, Shami took 11 wickets in three matches in England. Umesh Yadav took six wickets in the single test match that he played.
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