We gear up for the ultimate battle as the most awaited India – England series is all set to kick off in Chennai on 5th February. Both sides will be entering the series after series wins in Sri Lanka and Australia which is why both teams will be high on confidence going into the series.
The first couple of Test matches will take place in Chennai post which the final two Tests will be played in Ahmedabad, one of which is a day-night Test. As we take a look at both sides, India and England will be featuring a full-strength side except for a few exceptions in the Indian team as Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja have been ruled out due to injuries sustained during the Australia tour.
This series would mark the return of Virat Kohli to the Indian side and also the return of the apparent battle between Kohli and Anderson which has been going on since the 2014 England tour. Well, this won’t be the only battle we’d look forward to as we take a look at the 4 battles to watch out for during India vs England Test series.
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Let’s Take A Look At The 4 Battles To Watch Out For During The India vs England Test Series:
1. James Anderson v Virat Kohli
The battle between Virat Kohli and James Anderson has been going on since 2014 where Kohli immensely struggled in the line outside off stump as on most occasions he ended up edging them towards the slips cordon. But just as how times changed, Kohli’s approach saw a sudden shift as while comparing to his 2014 statistics against Anderson to his 2018 statistics, there was a considerable difference.
In 2014, Anderson dismissed Kohli four times in 50 balls while in 2018 Anderson failed to dismiss Kohli on all occasions. It would now remain to see how Kohli would fare up against Anderson during the Test series in India
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2. Ravichandran Ashwin vs Joe Root and Ben Stokes
Ravichandran Ashwin is one bowler who absolutely troubles every batsman in the World in all conditions. Be it Chennai or Sydney, Ashwin has always had the batsman dancing to his variations. Over the years, we termed England batsman’s technique against spin as ‘weak’ but as years progressed, we saw the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes excel against spin in overseas conditions.
Take the recently concluded Sri Lanka tour, for example, we witnessed Joe Root amass 600+ runs in merely 4 innings which included 1 double century. Similarly with Ben Stokes who averages a pretty decent 38.33 has often had his days against spin. With both, Root and Stokes participating in the India tour will collide against the variations of Ravichandran Ashwin which is why it remains to see how the two would fare up.
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3. Jofra Archer vs Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane
‘Pace’ is the word that comes to our mind when we hear about Jofra Archer, the man who made his debut for England just before the 2019 World Cup played a significant role in England winning the 10 Team tournament. During the 2019 Ashes we witnessed how Jofra Archer’s bouncer led to Steve Smith being ruled out for concussion, that’s the impact the fast bowler has had in international cricket.
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Now with Jofra Archer touring India for the first time in the England jersey, two batsmen will need to keep wary about Archer and his sublime consistency of bowling pace, that being Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane who more often than not like playing their shots off the front foot which at times also lead to them edging it back in the slips cordon.
During the tour of Australia, the majority of Rahane’s dismissals have been caught behind the wicket. While Rohit who is a firm driver of the ball has the habit of getting trapped in front of the wicket, these are the weaknesses Jofra will always keep in mind while bowling to the two Mumbai batsman.
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4. Moeen Ali and Jack Leach vs Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant has been a revolution in the Indian middle-order for the Test side, the aggressive intent in his batting almost won India the match in Sydney while in Brisbane the young man’s berzerk batting display led to India sealing the series off in Brisbane.
If you noticed, Rishabh Pant took the charge on Nathan Lyon on all occasions, it didn’t matter to him whether Lyon is one of the best off-spinners in the World, the only thing that mattered was his aim to help India win the Test. Similarly, how he attacked Lyon, expect the same treatment to Moeen Ali and Jack Leach when the two go up against Rishabh Pant in India. Let’s not be surprised if Pant decides to take on both the spinners right from ball one.
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