3 key factors for India to achieve success in the Test series in England

#2 Trio of Pujara-Kohli-Rahane would define the outcome of the series

Cheteshwar Pujara

Team India boasts of strong middle order if not the best middle order in the world. Cheteshwar Pujara has been the best number 3 batsman for Team India ever since Rahul Dravid retired from Test Cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara has been playing county cricket for a decent length of time and this could be a huge advantage for him as well as Team India going ahead into the test series.

By now, Pujara would be well equipped with the conditions and pitches in England and he will play a major role in holding the batting line up. Pujara would need to occupy the crease for a lengthy period of time and wear the new ball and this would help the other batsman score runs from the other end.

In the previous series in England, Pujara managed to score 222 runs in the 5 Tests with an average of 22.20. This time he would want to make amends and have a much better tour with the bat.

Virat Kohli

The Indian Skipper Virat Kohli received a major setback after being ruled out from his county stint due to an injury near the neck. Virat Kohli would undergo fitness tests before the series and would hope to be back to full fitness going ahead into the tour. Coming to the stats, we all know the Indian skipper has had a dismal test series last time when he toured England with a poor average of 13.40 in 10 innings.

However, this time he would want to wipe off the old memories by scoring runs on the green decks and proving his critics wrong. Virat Kohli has vastly improved his technique in Test cricket and this was evident in the recent South Africa series as he was the top scorer for Team India in the 3 Test matches.

With a Test series win in his mind, this would be the final frontier for Virat Kohli with the bat.

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane has been India’s best overseas test batsman over the years. Records show that he has scored runs in every foreign country and he has a better batting average compared to his teammates. He was the lone fighter in the last Test series versus England and his century at Lord's in the second Test was a memorable knock, largely due to the conditions in which he batted on. This knock not only helped Team India put up a good score but helped Team Indian win the match.

In the last tour, Ajinkya Rahane scored 299 runs with an impressive average of 33.22. He would want to replicate the same if not give a better performance this time. He is the linchpin of India’s batting lineup, considering his ability to play seam and swing and also alter his game from playing cautiously to play aggressive cricket when the situation demands.

It would also be exciting to see the battle between the English seamers and the trio of Indian batting.