Mumbai, Dec 7:
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 tomorrow.
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.
Tomorrow’s Test match 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 yesterday, 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.
Squads
India: Virat Kohli (Capt), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice Captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Parthiv Patel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
England: Alastair Cook(Capt), Keaton Jennings, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes. (PTI)
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