India's predicted XI for the 4th Test match

The Indian team got off to a bad start to the Test series after they lost the first two encounters. In the first Test, India came close to pulling off a sensational victory due to the bowlers and King Kohli. However, the other batsmen failed to contribute or support Kohli. As a result, India lost the game by 31 runs and Kohli's efforts went in vain.

In the second match, India looked helpless and was rolled over by England. The entire batting line-up, including Virat Kohli, failed to make any sort of impact throughout the game. Even the bowlers couldn't perform well and India succumbed to another defeat. Due to the result of this match, England led the five-match series 2-0.

The likes of Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul failed to make an impression in the first two games.

However, in the third Test, India came up with different tactics. They dropped Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav to bring in Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah. All the changes worked pretty well as India went on to win the match.

England won the toss and chose to bowl first. India scored 329 runs in the first inning due to 97 by Virat Kohli and 81 by Ajinkya Rahane. On the other hand, England was bundled out for a paltry 161. Hardik Pandya picked up a 5 wicket haul to give India a 168 run lead.

India scored 352 runs in the second inning before declaring. Virat Kohli scored a century, while Hardik Pandya scored a half-century. India bowled well in the second innings and ultimately, won the game by 203 runs thanks to Bumrah's five-wicket haul.

Here's a look at India's predicted XI for the 4th Test match.

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Openers- Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan played the first Test match against England but was dropped for the second one, after scoring just 39 runs in the game. However, the batsman was brought back into the team in place of Murali Vijay and he proved the management right. He scored 35 runs in the first inning and 44 in the second. He has scored 2271 runs in 54 innings at an average of 42.05.

KL Rahul might keep his place in the team even though, he hasn't had the best of times. He looked out of sorts in the first 2 games but looked positive in the last one. He scored 23 runs and 36 runs in both the innings. He didn't look tentative and his defence was pretty good. The Karnataka batsman has scored 1606 runs in 44 innings at an average of 37.34.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli

Cheteshwar Pujara wasn't included in the playing XI for the first Test match but came back for the second. He had little impact in the second Test and in the first inning of the second game. However, he turned things around with a 72 run knock and had a good time in the middle. He has scored 4635 runs in 101 innings at an average of 49.3.

Virat Kohli has had a series to remember, thus far. The Delhi born batsman has scored 440 runs in this series already. This was after he had a dreadful series in England in 2014. He has notched up 2 centuries already and his leadership has been amazing. The star man has scored 5994 runs in 118 innings at an average of 50.8.

Ajinkya Rahane looks like he has gained some sort of form from the last game. The vice-captain has had a terrible year this time around, in all formats of the game. However, he rose to the occasion when the team needed him. He scored 81 runs in the first inning and dug India out of trouble along with Kohli. He has scored 3051 runs in 82 innings at an average of 41.8.

Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya proved his mettle as an all-rounder in the last game. He was brilliant for India and was instrumental in giving India a victory. He scored a half-century in the second innings and also picked up a crucial five-wicket haul in England's first inning. He has scored 528 runs in 16 innings and picked up 16 wickets in 16 innings.

Rishabh Pant made his Test match debut for India in the last match, replacing Dinesh Karthik. He scored 24 runs in the first inning but could only manage one in the second inning. The 20-year-old's wicketkeeping was impressive as he was involved in a lot of dismissals. He will look to better his batting in the fourth match and play a counter-attacking knock.

Ravi Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma

Jasprit Bumrah and Shami

Ravi Ashwin has been very good as an all-rounder for India. The Tamil Nadu lad has had a decent series so far. However, he didn't have a very important role to play in the last game as most of the wickets were picked up by the pacers. Ash has scored 2263 runs in 87 innings and has picked up 324 wickets in 114 innings.

Jasprit Bumrah made a return from injury in the last game and played an important role for India. He picked up a few wickets in both the innings and helped India to a victory. He has picked up 21 wickets in 8 innings. He will have to play a pivotal role in the next match and he will look to live up to the expectations.

Mohammed Shami has played all 3 games and is a key part of the India Test team. He played the role of a third pacer in the last match and picked up wickets just when the team was in need of one. The fast bowler has picked up 116 wickets in 63 innings.

Ishant Sharma has been the leader of the bowling attack in this series and has lived up to the billing. He was once again amongst the wickets in the last match. He also picked up a 5 wicket haul in the last match. He has picked up 249 wickets in 151 innings and will have to pick up a lot of wickets in the next 2 games.