After a nice break between the third Test and the fourth one, England and India are ready to resume battle to decide who comes out on top of what is fast becoming a fascinating series. Southampton is the venue for the fourth game which begins on Thursday.
India will believe they carry all the momentum into the contest and will be looking to level the series but England know if they win at the Ageas Bowl they shut down the series there and then and can have a victory parade at The Oval next week.
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England
It is pretty obvious that England will not have been happy with their performance at Trent Bridge although you could argue that in truth it was only their first innings that let them down. They generally batted alright in the second innings but they were a bit of a shambles in the first. What would have worried them was that it wasn’t Ravi Ashwin getting them out either.
We will see what England’s bowling truly has to offer in this match. So far in the series they have had aerial and ground conditions to suit them but that is less likely to be the case at the Ageas Bowl which means that they will to work harder for their wickets. On a good batting pitch their whole top order will need to stand up and be counted too.
India
It was almost a perfect Test match for India at Trent Bridge. The key thing was that they didn’t panic when England were frustrating them on that fourth day and in the end their victory was clinical and emphatic. The foundation for their success was two wonderful batting efforts and it is pivotal that they repeat that.
The deeper India can take this match the more the pitch is likely to suit their bowling attack so this is not a match for them to be especially flashy with the bat. Solid accumulation of runs will be the order of the day here even if it will run the risk of a draw. It is vital India take England deep if they want their best chance of winning.
Team News
As has been the case throughout the series, England have named their starting XI already with two changes being made. Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes miss out with Moeen Ali and Sam Curran coming in. Jonny Bairstow plays as a batsman only.
India have confirmed that Ravi Ashwin has recovered from the injury that dogged him at Trent Bridge. They could be unchanged unless they want to bring in the second spinner, which is getting quite a lot of talk so it appears likely.
Ageas Bowl
There have been two previous Test matches on this ground. The first match here was a rain affected draw while the second saw England thrash India and the home side will be hoping that is a sign for what can be achieved here.
The pitch here is generally good to bat on and with this being the first Test match here for four years we should expect a wicket that will take the game as deep as possible. It will turn the longer it goes on though. That is a trait of the Ageas Bowl wickets anyway but after the summer England has had it is even more the case.
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Tips
I’ve got a few outright bets which are right in contention so I’m not going to go too mad on this match but there are a couple of bets I will go with. The first of those is the performance of Virat Kohli. The Indian captain has been brilliant in this series in tough batting conditions so I’m expecting him to really shine here. His struggles in England are well known but he still made 39 and 28 here four years ago and he is in much better form now. He has two centuries, a 97 and another 50 in this series so far and I expect his runs to keep on coming here. With catches added on top I think his performance will exceed 100.5pts.
Moeen Ali goes into this match in exceptional form and if he gets to bat above Sam Curran, which I would expect him to do, then there should be enough batting around him for him to show his stuff. The Worcestershire captain made a double ton at Scarborough not so long ago and if the ball is turning he plays spin as well as anyone in the England side. 12/1 is a touch on the big side to me here.
Tips
WON – Back V.Kohli’s Performance – Over 100.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with 888sport
Back him here:
Back M.Ali Top England 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 13.00 with Skybet
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