The England and India Test series has already reached crunch time for the visitors as they head to Trent Bridge for the third match of five on Saturday knowing if they lose they will have lost the series with two matches left to play.
England have largely been all over India in this series so far and their dominance will be confirmed should they come out on top at Nottingham over the next five days. Even a draw will secure England a share of the series.
England
When the series began there were fears that the summer had gone against England and they would be found out in alien home conditions but so far nothing has been further from the truth. Admittedly some rain came at just the right time but they have had the Indian batting line up under pressure early in all four innings and for once they have not let their foot off the throat.
The beauty of what has happened so far from an England point of view is that there is a whole lot more to come from them. They have been a shambles in the field in both matches in truth and that is a clear area where they can improve. They have also yet to score with their first four wickets in any innings so they can make strides there. That should keep them motivated and avoid complacency.
India
There was a lot of hope and expectation around this Indian side heading into the series that this could be their time but it hasn’t played out that way. Those who felt like that, and to be fair I was one of them prior to the series beginning, could say that India have been unlucky with the weather but in truth that would be a cop out and one which justifies two poor performances.
India haven’t actually been that bad with the ball but when it has come to the bat they have looked clueless. To be fair to their batsmen they were given no preparation other than the ODIs and a warm up match which became pretty meaningless. That said some of their errors, in the face of seriously good bowling admittedly, have been very weak. They need to find a technique that allows them to survive and fast.
Team News
Joe Root has confirmed that England will make one change to their side for this match. Ben Stokes will come in after missing the second Test. He replaces the hero of the first game in Sam Curran.
It looks like the train has arrived at the platform and it is all change for India. The second spinner is set to hit the can so either Umesh Yadav or Jasprit Bumrah will come in for Kuldeep Yadav. There is also strong talk that Rishabh Pant will come in for Dinesh Karthik while Shikhar Dhawan could return.
Trent Bridge
There have been 62 previous Test matches at the Nottingham venue in the past. England have played in 61 of those matches with 22 wins and 22 draws and just 17 defeats. India have a win, two draws and three defeats on this ground which is a creditable record to be fair.
The ball always does a bit here and the conditions of the ground often allow for swing but we’ve seen in the one day matches here in the past that when the ball stops moving around that it is a good wicket to bat on so everyone should enjoy their certain moments in this match.
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Betting
I’ll take a couple of performances as my main bets for this match with them coming in the form of James Anderson and Mohammad Shami. Anderson has a line of 115.5 which he has covered with ease in the second game and would have covered in the first had Sam Curran not been inspired. Anderson loves Trent Bridge. He has 60 wickets here in just nine matches at an average less than 20. There is more than a good chance he takes at least six scalps in this one.
Mohammad Shami took three wickets in the first Test and scored 80pts in a match in which India only bowled once at Lord’s so I think he will be good to cover 80.5pts here. He needs four wickets on a ground which should suit his bowling style but it might be that he clubs a few with the bat and we get away with needing just three wickets. I don’t think four scalps is beyond him so it makes sense to take the over here.
Ravi Ashwin top scored for India in both innings at Lord’s and with Virat Kohli said to be struggling with his back I see no reason not to take the all-rounder to top score for the tourists in the first innings here. If England get the ball swinging then India’s top order is going to struggle once again and it could be that the aggressive nature of Ashwin wins the day once again. Kohli aside he was the only player who looked like he had the technique to hand around at Lord’s and that’s enough to lure me into the 16/1 on him in the first dig here.
Tips
Back J.Anderson’s Performance – Over 115.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with 888sport
Back him here:
Back M.Shami’s Performance – Over 80.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
Back him here:
Back R.Ashwin Top India 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 17.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
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