India ready to wrap up series
A dominant India will be eyeing to clinch the five-Test series against England with yet another comprehensive victory when the two teams square off in the fourth match of the series starting on December 8.
By : migrator
Update: 2016-12-07 19:56 GMT
Mumbai
With an unassailable 2-0 lead after three Tests, the confidence of the Virat Kohli-led team is sky high and they would like to regain the Anthony de Mello Trophy which they had lost to Alastair Cook’s side back in 2012. Even if England manage a draw, India will win the series after the visitors’ hat-trick of wins — 2011 in England, 2012 in India and 2014 in England again. In their last two Test meetings at the Wankhede, England had prevailed over India and the 2012 Test match will always be remembered as one where Kevin Pietersen played perhaps one of the finest knocks by an overseas batsman on Indian soil.
The fourth Test gives India a chance to exact revenge for the two earlier defeats and also make the Chennai Test inconsequential. The tourists suffered a heavy loss in Mohali and are now expected to come hard at the hosts after spending a week away from the sub-continent – in Dubai – licking their wounds and recharging their batteries.
In the interim, England had also replaced two injured Asian-origin players – impressive teenage opener Haseeb Hameed and left arm spinner Zafar Ansari – with two uncapped players — Keaton Jennings and Liam Dawson. Hameed’s loss due to a finger fracture sustained in Mohali is a big blow to England who will be hoping that the South Africa-born Jennings will step into the other youngster’s shoes seamlessly and perform well the difficult role of opening the batting with skipper Alastair Cook. India, too, have had injury concerns but as head coach Anil Kumble pointed out at a media conference, the newcomers had slipped in and performed well to contribute to the hosts’ domination of the rubber after having played second fiddle to the tourists in the series opener at Rajkot.
India’s top-order batting has been shored up by the sublime form exhibited by Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Virat Kohli and any subsequent wobble has been arrested by the lower order batsmen led by Ravichandran Ashwin. Parthiv Patel took on the unenviable job of opening the batting against the top-class England newball attack led by the redoubtable James Anderson with élan in Mohali, making 42 and 67 respectively. With the return to fitness after a forearm injury of KL Rahul, who did not play the third game of the series, the pint-sized wicket keeper is expected to bat in the middle-order.
Manish replaces Rahane, Thakur in for Shami
India are sweating over injury issues with batsman Ajinkya Rahane being ruled out of the remaining two Tests against England after sustaining an avulsion fracture on his right index finger during the team’s practice session and has been replaced by Manish Pandey.
A ball struck Rahane today in the nets and the BCCI medical team confirmed that he would not be able to play in the last two matches of the ongoing five-Test series against England, which India are leading 2-0. While Pandey has been included as Rahane’s replacement, medium pacer Shardul Thakur has been called as back-up for India pacer Mohammed Shami, who is nursing a sore knee. “The BCCI medical team is closely monitoring his (Shami) progress and a decision on his participation will be taken before the start of the fourth Test match,” a BCCI release said. Earlier in the day, India captain Virat Kohli said that a call on whether the UP-born Bengal pace bowler Shami will play would be taken this evening. “We are going to take a call in the evening in terms of how he (Mohammed Shami) is feeling with his knee. After the Mohali Test he felt soreness in his knee, so we need to take a corrective call all on that,” said Kohli at the Wankhede Stadium. Shami has been the stand-out performer for India in bowling after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin this year, with a bag of 29 wickets in three rubbers.
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