India vs England Test Series 2018: 3 key player battles which might decide the outcome of the series

#2 Joe Root vs Kuldeep Yadav

Enticing battle of wits

This battle between the prolific English batsman and the young Indian chinaman bowler has been quite an interesting battle in the limited overs format. Having got the better of Joe Root thrice in the T20s and first ODI, Kuldeep was effectively countered in the remaining 2 ODIs. The key to Root's success was that he gradually learned how to pick Yadav from his hand, instead of looking to read him off the pitch.

However, it is a completely different ball game in test cricket. Being one of the best batsmen of the modern era in test cricket, Root has scored 1102 runs in 11 matches at an average of 68.87 against India. Kuldeep, on the other hand, is relatively new in test cricket, having made his debut against Australia at Dharamshala on 25th March 2017. He had very impressive figures of 4/68 in that match.

Everyone is well aware of England's weakness against wrist spin and hence, India could exploit it by picking Kuldeep ahead of Ashwin and Jadeja. In spite of playing Kuldeep quite well towards the end of the ODIs, it will be a difficult task to negotiate his variations in test cricket, even for a batsman of Joe Root's calibre.