IND vs ENG 2021: 5 Players who have points to prove in 3rd India-England Test

#3 Sam Curran (England)

Curran bagged a King Pair at Lord's

Back in 2018, Sam Curran was India’s kryptonite. Not only did the all-rounder pick up crucial wickets, he also chipped in with runs whenever England were in a pickle. To put it more simply, that series provided the world a glimpse of Curran’s immense potential as an international cricketer.

In 2021, though, his place in the team seems to be under slight scrutiny, especially with Ben Stokes missing. Without Stokes, the onus has fallen on Curran to provide more of a wicket-taking alternative – something that has not materialized so far.

At Lord’s, Curran picked up a solitary wicket – that of Kohli, indicating that he has what it takes to be a genuine partnership-breaker. However, with him playing as part of a four-man fast-bowling attack, which also comprises of Mark Wood, who is most effective when bowling short and sharp bursts, Curran might have to pull his weight a lot more.

Furthermore, Curran became the first cricketer in history to register a King Pair at Lord’s. For the past couple of years, Curran’s batting in the Test arena has been invaluable, meaning that he has counter-attacked lower down the order and helped England stave off prospective collapses.

However, if his batting fails regularly, the pressure will amp up on Curran, for he is not picking up as many wickets as what would be deemed ideal.

Thus, on those two fronts, it seems that the 3rd Test at Headingley could be defining. And with a certain Chris Woakes on the verge of returning and Ollie Robinson showing no signs of letting up, Curran would want to make this chance count.

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#2 Ajinkya Rahane (India)

Rahane scored vital runs against England in the second innings at Lord's

Prima facie, this might seem an odd selection because Ajinkya Rahane stitched together a fifty-plus essay when India needed it most at Lord’s. However, on closer inspection, there is enough to suggest that that innings, which ultimately proved to be match-winning, could still prove to be another false dawn – something India might be wary of.

Since that Boxing Day hundred against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Rahane fell off a cliff. While he scored a fifty against England at Chennai in February 2021, that seemed to be the deviation from the mean. So much so that India’s Test vice-captain, before the 2nd innings at Lords, averaged a grand total of 24.59 since the start of 2020 – numbers hardly befitting of a batter expected to provided solidity in the middle order.

Interestingly, even during that phase, where he notched up 541 runs across 23 innings, he put together a ton and a couple of half-centuries, hinting that he has a tendency to go off the boil immediately after an innings of authority.

Alarmingly, there seems to be no pattern to guess when and where a Rahane lull would begin, meaning that he has plenty to correct during and after the 3rd Test.

For now, Rahane has bought himself a bit of time, courtesy of his essay at Lord’s. Yet, if he continues the trend of scoring big and then producing incredibly uninspiring numbers, India might start contemplating rejigging their middle order.

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#1 Virat Kohli (India)

Kohli has not gotten going in the England series so far

For the past decade, Kohli has largely established himself as the best batter across formats in international cricket. Not only has the India captain conquered every territory he has surveyed, a lot of his substantial knocks have directly translated into victories for India, thereby highlighting the impact he can create.

More recently, the runs have dried up remarkably. The last time Kohli scored an international ton was against Bangladesh in India’s debut pink-ball Test at Eden Gardens. For the uninitiated, that was in November 2019, which by Kohli’s standards, is a gargantuan rut.

As far as his Test batting credentials are concerned, the India captain has perhaps slipped to only be the 5th best Test batter in the world, behind the likes of Joe Root, Kane Williamson, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith – something that should get Kohli motivated to come up with the goods.

Worryingly, a few of Kohli’s old shortcomings have resurfaced. In India’s current assignment against England, he has fiddled with deliveries outside off stump. It has also sparked uncanny resemblances to his wretched tour to the United Kingdom in 2014, where India, without Kohli’s runs, ran out of steam post a historic victory at Lord’s.

Hence, it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that Kohli needs runs and a truckload of them. It would also be fair to assume that he needs them pretty quickly.

So far, India have coped extremely well without Kohli’s runs. But when talking about possibly the greatest batter in the modern era, that simply isn’t enough. Maybe the 3rd Test of the India-England series can change that narrative then!

What a game of cricket 👌Everyone stepping up, love the commitment and attitude. Way to go boys 🇮🇳 💪 pic.twitter.com/hSgmxkLiiP

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 16, 2021