- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE high-profile five-Test series between England and India will take off at Trent Bridge on Wednesday (4). While Joe Root’s men will look to avenge their 1-3 loss to India in the sub-continent earlier this year that cost them dearly in the World Test Championship (WTC), Virat Kohli’s men will look to better their records in England where they lost the 2018-19 series 1-4.
What will be the key points in the upcoming series? AFP Sports has looked at five of them that could influence the outcome of what could be an absorbing series between two of the finest sides in world cricket today.
The Indian skipper did a great job in burying the ghosts of the 2014 series in the 2018 series by scoring 593 runs but his recent form remains a concern in an otherwise dazzling batting career. In eight Tests since the beginning of 2020, the ace Indian batsman has managed only 345 runs at an average of 24.64. The English bowlers will take a cue from New Zealander pacer Kyle Jamieson who beat Kohli in the final of the WTC final at Southampton by nipping the ball off the seam. The home team will keep on attacking the premier batsman in the upcoming series, that’s for sure.
The hosts have been pushed to the backfoot by the absence of ace all-rounder Ben Stokes who recently said he was taking an indefinite break from all forms of cricket to look after his “mental well-being”. Stokes is one of the modern-day greats who is not only a dynamic batsman but a handy bowler as well. His presence brings a balance to the England team and his absence means the home side has a match-winner less in their ranks.
While most experts would think more about how India’s batting will cope with England’s bowling in seaming conditions, given their performance in the WTC final, England’s batting is also not without its share of problems. The Three Lions’ batting was exposed in their 0-1 loss to New Zealand at home which ended their seven-year record of remaining unbeaten on home soil. While skipper Roots has an impressive batting average (48 plus) to show in Tests, the next best average belongs to opener Rory Burns and it is less than 34. The recent shows of the likes of Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley are not too encouraging either.
The players from both teams will have a demanding series since five Tests will be played in a span of just 42 days. The pace bowlers will be under particular stress and possibilities of injuries will be high. India have been hit by injuries of late and even though they have picked a big squad to England keeping in mind the ongoing Covid pandemic, injuries can disturb any side’s balance. In England’s case too, old horses James Anderson and Stuart Broad will have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities since the likes of Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer are currently injured.
India’s last series victory in England had come back in 2007 while they were hammered 4-0 in 2011, 3-1 in 2014 and 4-1 in 2018. On the other hand, they have beaten Australia in their backyard in two successive series in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Could Kohli’s men take encouragement from that feat to script something similar in England?
(With AFP inputs)
