The first Test match between India and England gets underway in Rajkot on Wednesday with both sides looking to lay down a marker to the other right from the start. This might be a five match series but neither side will want to lose the first game and be chasing on tricky wickets.
India
India head into this series full of form and confidence after an excellent run in Test cricket this year. They have been to the West Indies and dominated and recently just concluded a series against New Zealand which was equally as emphatic and if they continue to perform like that they will be very tough to beat.
We know India are going to pile up the runs in this series so this match and future ones are likely to be decided by how well their bowlers fare. They have controlled most opponents in India over the last couple of years and you would think that is likely to continue here.
England
England won the series on their last visit to India but a lot has changed since then so while they have those memories to draw upon this is going to be a much tougher test for them. The first thing they have to do is put the disappointment of losing the second Test to Bangladesh recently out of their mind and focus on the here and now.
England’s biggest issue going into the series is the form, and to a lesser extent the ability, of their spinners. New Zealand just left India with arguably a better spin attack than England and they never landed a blow on the home side so England need to find a way for their spinners to be competitive else they are struggling.
Team News
Gautan Gambhir is set to continue as the makeshift opener in light of all the injuries the home side have. Another injury they’ve recently picked up is Rohit Sharma. He has been ruled out of the series with Karun Nair or Hardik Pandya among the favourites to replace him.
India aren’t the only ones handing out a debut. England have confirmed that the Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed will make his Test debut with Gary Ballance making way and Ben Duckett shifting down the order. Stuart Broad and Gareth Batty are expected to return.
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium
This will be the first Test match to be held on this ground but we know what we’re going to get here looking at the First-class stats on the ground. In 16 matches here they have been 20 five-wicket pickups from spinners.
The wicket is already said to be cracked although there is talk that there is some grass on it. How long that stays on for remains to be seen but either way this is going to be a hard toil for both the batsmen and the seamers.
Betting
With this being the first match of a long series and the first Test ever played on this ground I’m going to take a bit of a watching brief to begin with but if anything turns up along the way I will write another preview.
My only main bet going into the match is for Ravi Jadeja to take more than 2.5 wickets in the first innings. The last time he played on this ground in First-class cricket he took 13 wickets and with spin likely to dominate proceedings I’m expecting him to have a big role to play.
England have added a right hander to their top order which could be significant but Jadeja has the straight on ball that can trouble the left handers too. England might well have put all their eggs in one basket in preparation in terms of how to play Ashwin and Jadeja could well benefit from that.
I’ll take a punt in the top England batsman market where Moeen Ali has to be overpriced at 9/1. He is probably England’s best player of spin and batting up at five he will have plenty of time at the crease and judging by the Bangladesh series perhaps not much to beat. At 9/1 he’s worth taking.
Tips
WON – Back R.Jadeja Over 2.5 1st Inns Wickets for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with Coral
Back him here:
Back M.Ali Top England 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
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