The England’s tour of India 2021 will start with a four match Test Series. The first will start from tomorrow at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium, Chennai. Then the teams will compete in a 5-match T20 series and a 3-match ODI series.
Both the teams are coming into the Test Series full of confidence on the back of an overseas win. England recently won the 2 match Test series in Sri Lanka.
While India will be full of confidence and positivity after clinching a historic series win over Australia in Australia itself as they cliched the fortress in the final test. Many players including captain Virat Kohli was missing for the most of the 4-match Test series but India managed to defeat the Aussies 2-1 in their own land. So India vs England should be a cracker of a series as both the teams are in-form and will be facing each other in a key battle to ensure a top-two finish in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. In the Indian team, we have got some new youngsters in Australia.
5 Indian Players to watch out for in the Test series
1. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the heroes of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. His heroics with the bat along with Hanuma Vihari helped India to an improbable draw in the Sydney Test. Ashwin was also great with the ball . He picked 12 wickets in 3 matches proved to be a crucial contribution in the series win.
Now Ashwin will be playing in conditions which suits him the most. His record in India is extraordinary. In 43 matches at homeIn Chennai he has 254 wickets to his name with 21 five-wicket hauls and six 10-wicket hauls. So, in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin will be the leader of the bowling attack in Ind vs Eng Test series.
2. Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill was one of the stars of the series win in Australia. He got his Test cap at the MCG and straight away made his mark by scoring an impressive 45 in challenging conditions. In the second innings of his Test career. But the real talent of Shubman Gill were seen in the 4th Test match at the Gabba. While chasing a huge 4th inning total of 328, the 21-year-old made 91.
The world cricket has seen the arrival of Shubman Gill. But now the real challenge for him is to live up to the expectations that he has created among the Indian cricket fans. So the India vs England Test Series is a perfect opportunity for Gill to seal the opening slot.
3. Rishabh Pant
The best batsman of India in the Border-Gavaskar trophy – Rishabh Pant will be grabbing all the attention in the India-England Series. The wicket-keeper batsman was the top scorer for India in the series against Australia. The main aspect which everyone is worried about Pant is his wicket-keeping. We have seen in Australia that Pant dropped catches of spinners and fast bowlers as well. So in the turning pitches of India, he should try to make his keeping better. Rishabh Pant should be high in confidence after what he was able to achieve in Australia.
4. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma’s tour of Australia was full of confusions and controversy. After all of that Rohit played in the third Test match in Sydney and was involved in a 70 run partnership with Shubman Gill. He made 26 in the first innings and 52 in the second innings.
The mode of dismissal in the second innings of the Sydney Test drew a lot of criticism to Rohit Sharma. His urge to play the lofted pull shot cost him the wicket and left India in a dreary situation. In the tour of Australia he made only 129 runs at an average of 32.25. He needs to score big against England and his performances is certainly one to look forward in the India vs England clash.
5. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli was the talk of the town when he decided to take paternity leave for the birth of his first child. As expected the decision drew mixed reactions and the 36 all out in Adelaide just before his departure made things even worse. After Ajinkya Rahane’s superb job as the stand-in captain, some people have got the chance to have a go at Virat Kohli. Many people think that Rahane should be made the permanent captain instead of Kohli.
So basically, Virat Kohli is under the pressure ahead of the India vs England series, to perform not only as of the captain of the team but also as an individual player. The year 2020 turned out to be the worst year for the Indian skipper as he couldn’t score a single century in any of the formats. The last century of Virat Kohli in Test cricket was against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in November 2019. After that Virat struggled in the New Zealand tour and had to leave the Australian tour after the first match only.
The “Fab 4” of world cricket – Kane Williamson, Steven Smith and Joe Root have scored centuries in their last Test series. So the run machine Virat Kohli is one the leading Indian players to watch out for in the India vs England Test series.