England vs India, 3rd Test: 5 Indians who will need to stand up and deliver

It has been just under four years since Virat Kohli took over the captaincy reins from MS Dhoni in Test cricket and rarely has there been a time when he and his side have been under the pump as they have been now, heading into the third Test of the five-match series against England, at Trent Bridge on Saturday.

Down 0-2 in the series, India have to ensure they get a positive result in this game to stay in the reckoning to win or draw the rubber and the challenge of doing that will possibly be the greatest for quite a few players in this squad.

Cricket may be a team game, but giant individual contributions go a great way to ensure whether a side wins or loses. For India, the following five players will surely hold the key if they are to stay alive.

Murali Vijay

We start right at the top. There has been so much talk about the form and performance of Shikhar Dhawan in testing conditions that we have almost forgotten the hardships which Murali Vijay has faced in recent times.

The right-hander fell for a pair at Lord's and prior to that, his scores in the last five innings overseas read: 20, 6, 8, 25 and 46. He does have a century under his belt this year that came against Afghanistan at Bengaluru, but has little else of note.

Runs from Vijay's bat have been vital for India in past overseas tours, where he has served as the rock around the rest have built the edifice and how he fares with the bat at Nottingham will once again be crucial if India are to post a big total on the board.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara was castled by a beauty from Broad at Lord's

Recalled to the team in the previous game, Cheteshwar Pujara endured a forgettable outing in both innings, falling for 1 and 17 in the two innings that he played in.

Although he did put up a stubborn resistance in the second essay before being bowled by a brut from Stuart Broad, one does get the feeling that Pujara's defensive strength can also be a weakness as he tends to go a bit too much inside his shell and then gets out without having gotten a big enough score.

It's an area where he will need to continuously improve if India are to keep go at a steady rate in their innings.

Ishant Sharma

Sharma's contribution with the ball will be vital if India

are

to do well

The lanky seamer seemed at his absolute best in the opening Test at Edgbaston, where he took a five-wicket haul and after being penetrative in the early stages of the second Test at Lord's tapered off a bit.

In a career lasting over 10 years, it can be said with some conviction that it has been in the last three years that international cricket has been able to see him bowl at his best and one of the reasons for it has been the seam position and the adjustment he has made to it which has enabled to get extra movement.

The way he bowls at Trent Bridge will be important for India to restrict England.

Ravichandran Ashwin

India will want the Ashwin from Edgbaston to turn up at

Nottigham

Along with Ishant, Ashwin proved to be India's best bowler on view in the game at Edgbaston, getting some lovely drift which coupled very well with his line and length and caused trouble for the English batsman.

Strangely, he was bowled very late in the only innings India bowled in at Lord's and with England already having gained a significant advantage, he found it hard to bowl with a fixed goal in mind.

Hopefully, that won't be the case at Trent Bridge and he can bowl with the same rhythm and conviction as he did at Edgbaston.

Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane will want to contribute in a big way at Nottingham

If there was one player Virat Kohli would dearly hope gets back among the runs, perhaps even big runs, it would be Ajinkya Rahane.

In past overseas tours, Rahane's contribution has helped ease the pressure on the talisman and Kohli will want similar performances from his blade in the upcoming matches, as well.