India vs England 2018,third test : Preview

India and England face off tomorrow for the third test at Trent Bridge. England goes into the test as firm favorites with two wins in as many tests. India, on the other hand, would look to save themselves from the ignominy of a third defeat.

Team News

For England, Ben Stokes will be back in the side in place of Sam Curran. Rest of the side would remain the same.

Bumrah should be back from injury for India. Kohli is expected to make a couple of changes to strengthen his beleaguered batting. Dhawan might get another chance at the expense of Vijay. Rishabh Pant is expected to be drafted in place of Karthik. Finally, Karun Nair can come in place of Pandya.

Key Battles

Cook vs Ashwin

Ashwin got better of Cook at

Edgebaston

Ashwin got better of Cook twice at Edgebaston. With Trent Bridge pitch expected to be dry, it is expected to aid spin bowling. It would be interesting to see how Cook handles Ashwin this time around.

Kohli vs Anderson

Anderson is yet to dismiss Kohli in this series

Anderson is a master of swing bowling and has shown his class in the last two tests. Even at a tender age of 35, he has not lost his zing and has troubled even India's best batsman Kohli. Edgbaston saw an intriguing battle ensued between Kohli and Anderson. Indian skipper played a waiting game and kept leaving balls swinging away. He got a couple of lifelines but in the end, he got through the fiery spell unscathed. Once Anderson was out of the attack, Kohli went for his shots and registered a blistering century. English skipper, Joe Root would expect his premium bowler to get the better of his counterpart this time around.

Root vs Shami

Shami accounted for Root in the 2nd test

Shami has been the pick of Indian bowlers in this series. At Lords, he incessantly troubled the English skipper with the ball tailing in and eventually accounted for his dismissal. Root is a gusty cricketer and he would look to get better of Shami this time around.

Stokes vs Rahane

Rahane would be up for

challenge

Stokes got the better of Rahane last time around and was even instrumental in dismissing the Indians for a paltry 180 in the second innings at Edgbaston. The Indian vice-captain had an ordinary series so far and he would look to rectify that in the third test. Having missed the second test, Stokes would be also raring to go and look to test the beleaguered Indian middle order.

Pitch and Weather

Pitch is expected to be dry

The pitch at Trent Bridge is expected to be dry and this would be good news for Indian batsmen. Owing to its dryness it would not offer as much swing to pace bowlers. Ashwin would love to bowl on this track as it should offer some turn for spin bowlers. There is no forecast for rain over the five days of the test match.