The excellent Test series between England and India continues on Wednesday when the two sides reconvene for the third Test of the five with Headingley the venue for what could be the pivotal clash of the series.
India opened up a 1-0 lead in the series just over a week ago when they came out on top at Lord’s and could secure at least a share of the spoils here heading into the final two matches. England know they can’t afford to lose here but a win would set the series up brilliantly heading into the last two games.
England
The issues that have clouded England in red ball cricket are not going away in this series but it could be argued that the defeat at Lord’s was one of their hardest to take because they were on top at a key point in the match, only to completely lose their heads and throw what was a good position away on the final day to lose quite tamely in the end. The fact that they went from a winning position to not even coming close to drawing the match really did show how badly they lost their way on the final day.
In truth, but for the very best from their captain with the bat in the first innings, England wouldn’t have been in the game anyway and that knock as good as it was shouldn’t be allowed to paper over the cracks. England’s batting hasn’t been good enough for a long time and that needs to improve now if they are to win the series. The stresses and strains of having to bail the side out is starting to have an impact on their bowlers too so it is fair to say England aren’t a huge distance away from rock bottom heading into this match.
India
There are no such problems for the Indians though. They have a 1-0 lead heading into the biggest match in the series and you could probably argue that they are yet to deliver their best cricket. There have been patches when they have been good but they haven’t put a complete performance together yet. That will give them plenty of confidence because if they are winning matches when not at their best, when they do produce what they can do they are going to be incredibly tough for England to beat.
India have probably taken the lead in the series through the strength of their bowlers. Only two of their batsmen have more than 100 runs to their name in the series to date, so if India are going to progress and deliver that top performance then it is that department of their game which needs to come to the party. They are doing enough though as long as their bowlers continue to have the wood on the English batsmen. When the likes of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant are still to come good you know as a side that there is plenty still in the locker.
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Team News
England are guaranteed to make at least two changes in the match because Mark Wood has been ruled out through injury and Dominic Sibley hasn’t been retained in the squad. It appears as though Dawid Malan will replace Sibley with Haseeb Hameed going up to open and the Yorkshire star batting at three. Saqib Mahmood and Craig Overton are battling to replace Wood unless Sam Curran is left out after bagging a king pair last time out.
Unless there is a late illness or injury in the lead up to the match, which can never truly be ruled out in this climate these days, you wouldn’t think there is a need for India to make changes but there is talk of a dry surface which could bring either R Ashwin or Hanuma Vihari into the game, possibly at the expense of Ishant Sharma.
Headingley
The Leeds venue is no stranger to hosting Test match cricket. It has done so on 78 previous occasions, of which England have been involved in 77. They have 34 wins to 25 losses with 18 draws on the ground. India have played here six times and have a couple of wins and a draw to go with three defeats so it is a better venue for England than it is their opponents here but this isn’t the England side of old which might negate it somewhat.
Back in the day this used to be a seamers paradise with seam and swing a given whenever a cloud appeared over the ground but more recently as the renovations have taken place it has become a good place to bat with some short boundaries offering full value for shots. The weather is set fair for all five days and it might warm up as the match goes on so we should get a full Test match with spinners coming into things later in the piece.
Betting
I took India to win the second match in the series but I think the changes England will be forced into making might just make them a slightly better side and when you consider that the home side were in a winning position only to cough it up at Lord’s, I’m a little reluctant to get involved in India here, particularly on a ground where the crowd could get into them at some point in the match. I’ll take a bet in the side markets for my interest in this match.
Rishabh Pant hasn’t really fired in the series to date but I sense he’s ticking and he should have conditions to suit him here so this can be the match he announces his arrival on the series. Even though he hasn’t been anything close to his best yet, he has still put up performance totals of 95 in the first Test where he only batted once and 89 in the two matches so far so he is going to threaten a 98.5 line even with an average game, especially when you consider the outside edge will be more in play here. I expect a better than average game from the Indian keeper here though and if he delivers with the bat he’ll soar past this total. I like the over.
Tips
Back R.Pant’s Performance – Over 98.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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