India can secure a share of the ongoing Test series with England this week when the two sides face off in the third Test of five in Mohali. After dominating from start to finish in Visakhapatnam a win here will see India go 2-0 up with two to play.
England showed heart at times in the last match but they were always up against it from the minute they lost the toss. If they are to level the series here they could do with staying ahead of the game at all times.
India
Virat Kohli will be delighted with his side’s performance in the previous match. They won the toss which was a stroke of fortune but then they piled up the runs and from there you thought there would only be one winner. What may have delighted Kohli the most was the form of himself and Ravi Ashwin who both put poor records against England behind them to make significant contributions.
Clearly India are more comfortable than England in these conditions but they shouldn’t get complacent because England have plenty of dangers. Conditions are likely to suit India again though so they will head into the match with their tails up.
England
England will make changes for this match but they have played two Tests in India and apart from one really bad session in Visakhapatnam they have been much more competitive than many expected them to be. If they are to get back into the series they will need to score more runs especially in the first innings but they have enough to build on.
The big surprise has been how well they have bowled. India have only got away from them once in four innings and even then Virat Kohli was dropped more than 100 runs less than he ended up with so had England taken that chance this series could be so much different.
Team News
India have been forced into a chance with Parthiv Patel coming in for Saha behind the stumps. Saha has an injury which he hasn’t recovered from. Rohit Sharma will miss the entire series so India are expected to name an unchanged side apart from that.
England will definitely make two changes but a third is possible too. Jos Buttler for Ben Duckett and Chris Woakes for Stuart Broad have been confirmed and Gareth Batty is expected to come in for Zafar Ansari.
Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium
This will be the 13th Test here and India will be looking forward to playing here. They lost the first match that was played on this ground but they are unbeaten in the 11 since with six wins and five draws and they destroyed South Africa in a low scoring match here last year. England have played three times here with a draw and two defeats.
There is usually a bit more bounce in the wicket here in Mohali but all the talk about this pitch in the lead up to the match has been how bare it is and actually the feeling is that it might be quite slow. That will help and hurt England so it will be interesting to see how they cope.
Betting
This hasn’t been the easiest series to bet on and I don’t think this one is either. The match prices look about right but I couldn’t be betting on that until we know the outcome of the toss anyway as the flip of the coin is so crucial out in India.
Given that, it is about finding lines which are on the low side and which offer value and I’ve managed to find one which is the first innings wickets of Moeen Ali. In the series so far Moeen has first innings hauls of 2/85 and 3/98 so a 1.5 wicket line looks on the low side. At 5/6 I’m happy to take the overs there.
Someone is going to go up this England batting order with Ben Duckett dropped and I don’t think it will be Jos Buttler. There is every chance it will be Jonny Bairstow who moves up to four or five and that would be an excellent position for him to go well from. He went into the series with question marks over his ability to play spin but scores of 46, 53 and 34* have quietened the doubters and with more time with proper batsmen his scoring output should increase. He’s a good price to top score.
Tips
Back M.Ali Over 1.5 first innings wickets for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
WON – Back J.Bairstow Top England first innings batsman for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
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