How India can line-up in the final Test against England

After a long wait of almost nine months, India will be up against England in a match that will decide the outcome of the series that was left unfinished. While India indeed have the upper hand leading the series by 2-1, the side surely won’t be looking to take a defensive approach with more than just the series on the line.

England have gone through a miraculous rejuvenation under their new coach Brendon McCullum, and skipper Ben Stokes as the ‘Three Lion’ wiped the floor with World Test Champions, New Zealand thrashing them 3-0 at home. 

The hosts have shown a fiery side in the last three games playing like a well-oiled machine with their bowlers ripping through the batting order while their batters chasing down mountains as if their life depended on it. 

India will have a chip on their shoulders as they look to create history over the English side, but it won’t be an easy task. Let’s look at some factors that could influence the playing eleven India fields against their opponents in the fifth and final test.

High-scoring tracks at Edgbaston

The four games here at Edgbaston in this season of the County Championship saw a plethora of runs being scored. It seems like an ideal track for the English side, who made a mockery of the Black Cap bowlers in the last two games with their staggering strike rate. 

India will have to be cautious with their playing eleven, as a single mistake could very well cost them the series. However, the openers will have a crucial role to play here in the overcast condition as the Dukes’ ball will surely generate a lot of movement in the first ten overs. 

While there have been numerous reports of Cheteshwar Pujara opening the innings, he’d rather be better sticking to number three. Imagine losing Pujara in the first ten overs; that would be an absolute nightmare.

Reports of rainfall at Edgbaston for the upcoming day

No one likes it when the rain spoils the play. However, rain here will play a crucial part in how both sides take to the middle. Having three pacers plus two spinners in combination will likely hurt the visitors as a fourth pacer here could play an essential part in deciding the outcome.

While New Zealand surely missed the services of Ajaz Patel, who did not feature in any of the Tests as Michael Bracewell was left out as their sole spinner. However, the conditions are different here and fielding two spinners could be a double-edged sword.

With all these factors under consideration, let’s finally talk about the expected playing eleven for tomorrow.

Openers: Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill

Top Order: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli

Middle Order: Rishabh Pant (vc/wk), Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja

Bowlers: Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj

While this seems like the most sensible line-up, we could see Shreyas Iyer take to the middle rather than Hanuma Vihari who hasn’t been in good touch with the bat as of late. The other change could be playing Ravichandran Ashwin for Shardul Thakur but that seems unlikely to happen with the overcast conditions at Edgbaston.