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England take on India in the fourth Test of the Pataudi Trophy on Thursday, September 2, at the Kennington Oval in London.
After conceding a 1-0 lead to the visitors in the second Test, the hosts hit back hard at Headingley and recorded a win by an innings and 76 runs.
The nine-day break between the second and third Tests helped England regain their confidence. The inclusion of Dawid Malan at No. 3 that promoted Haseeb Hameed up the order worked wonders for their batting.
India won the toss and elected to bat first, and they almost instantly regretted their decision.
A mixture of poor shot selection from the Indian batters and some accurate bowling from the England seamers saw India get bundled out for 78. In reply, England cruised to 120/0 at the end of Day 1.
The domination continued on Day 2, with their top three registering half-centuries and skipper Joe Root notching up his third hundred of the series. England finished Day 2 on 423/8, taking a solid 345-run lead.
While India bowled them out for 432, a 354-run lead proved too much to overhaul. KL Rahul fell after weathering the new-ball storm, but Pujara and Rohit Sharma's counter-attack gave India hope. When the former got out, Kohli and Pujara joined forces to take India to stumps for 215/2.
However, England made light work of India's batting on Day 4, squishing any hopes of a remarkable comeback, and bowled them out for 278.
Player of the Match Ollie Robinson was the pick of the England bowlers, with two wickets in the first innings and a five-wicket haul in the second. James Anderson also had a good game and bowled a phenomenal opening spell that rattled India in the first innings.
England's resounding win will give them a lot of confidence ahead of the last two Tests. India will look to shake this defeat off and make a comeback in the fourth Test.
England have called up Chris Woakes for the fourth Test, with Sam Billings also added to the squad as cover.
Jos Buttler will miss the fourth Test due to personal reasons, with head coach Chris Silverwood confirming that Jonny Bairstow will keep wickets.
Mark Wood has reportedly returned to full fitness and will be in contention for a spot in the playing XI. India, meanwhile, have received an injury scare, with Jadeja taking a precautionary knee scan.
With the series level at 1-1, we're likely to get a cracker of an encounter at the Kennington Oval.
Match details
Date: September 2-6, 2021 (Thursday-Monday).
Time: 11:00 AM (Local/ BST), 03:30 PM (IST), and 10:00 AM (GMT).
Venue: Kennington Oval, London.
Weather Report
Rain could play spoilsport on day four and day five of this match. The forecast for the other days is good, with minimal chances of rain occurring. The average temperature should be 19 degrees Celsius across the five days.
Pitch Report
The wicket at the Kennington Oval should be good to bat on in the first innings, with some assistance for the seamers.
As the game goes on, the pitch should slow down, and spinners could come into play. Overall, we can expect another balanced contest between bat and ball.
Predicted XIs
England
Chris Woakes could walk straight into England's playing XI to give Sam Curran a much-needed rest. Mark Wood is also back to full fitness, and he could make a return to the playing XI.
England should keep an eye on the workload of their pacers, with Anderson meriting a rest. However, with a series-defining game up next, they're unlikely to rest their spearhead.
With Jos Buttler set to miss this game, Jonny Bairstow will be keeping wickets. One of Ollie Pope and Daniel Lawrence should take his place in the side. England's batting looked solid in the third Test, and they'll look to repeat the same once more.
England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (C), Jonny Bairstow(WK), Ollie Pope/ Daniel Lawrence, Moeen Ali, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes/ Sam Curran, Craig Overton/ Mark Wood, and James Anderson.
India
Despite their batting struggles, India's changes, if any, are likely to come in their bowling. There's been a lot of debate over the inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin, and we have a good chance of seeing him in India's playing XI for the fourth Test.
While Ishant Sharma had a bad game with the ball for India, it would be harsh to drop him for the fourth Test, considering the control and accuracy he brought in the second Test.
However, with both Ashwin and Shardul Thakur fit, you'd imagine that one of them would take his place. A potential injury scare for Ravindra Jadeja opens up the possibility of another Indian change.
KL Rahul has aggregated just 13 runs in three innings since the Lord's hundred despite facing plenty of balls, and he'll be keen to make his time in the middle count.
Rishabh Pant and Ajinkya Rahane will look to shake off their poor outings in the third Test and deliver.
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja/ Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma/ Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj.
Match prediction
While it may look like England have the upper hand after their triumph in the third Test, you'd expect this Indian side to bounce back strongly after such a setback.
Both teams look evenly matched, and we're not likely to get a batting collapse from either of these teams. With the possibility of losing game time due to rain, a draw is the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Match to be drawn.
TV and live streaming details
TV: Sony Six
Live Streaming: SonyLiv
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