The India and England Test series has created plenty of discussion both for it seeing the return of Test cricket to free to air television as well as the at times questionable pitches it has been played on, and it concludes this week when the fourth and final Test begins in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
India assured a share of the series when they wrapped up the third game inside two days last week but need to win this match to make the World Test Championship final. England have toiled hard in the series and with one last push they could yet come away with a draw.
India
The Indians were far too good in the previous match. There was a lot of talk about the pitch and the way it played but they played it much better than England and secured a very comfortable 10 wicket win. It wasn’t a flawless or exceptional performance by any means but it was one which was certainly good enough and you sense a repeat of it, especially with the ball, will be enough for them to come out 3-1 successors in a series which they trailed 1-0 in initially.
If India was to be completely dominant then they will bat better than they did in the day night match here, but given how relatively recent those things are on the landscape I don’t think we should condemn them too much. They will know you can’t be gifting five-wicket hauls to Joe Root in the fashion that they did though. It will be much more of the same please with the ball given how they are all over England in that department.
England
England were starting to dream of a famous series success after they dominated the opening match of the series but this is one which has got away from them quickly since then. They will be eager to deliver their best cricket once again here, whether that is good enough to share the series or not. It was always going to be hard to play from the front against this Indian side in these conditions but when they look back on the series, England players will know they have not done themselves justice since the first game.
The two matches which has followed have seen them grossly below what was required when it comes to playing spin bowling. What will have annoyed England is that on turning pitches a number of players have been guilty of getting out to the straight ball rather than the one that turned. If there was a positive to getting beat inside two days it is that they had the extra three days to go away and find a technique to cope with these conditions.
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Team News
We know that India will make at least one change for this series finale as Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the squad as he has his workload managed in these action packed times. Umesh Yadav and Mohhamad Siraj are the men hoping to replace him in a potentially unchanged side other than that.
England are expected to make changes too. Clearly playing just the one spinner in the last game was a huge error so Dom Bess is expected to come in for this game. Stuart Broad might be the one to miss out. Jonny Bairstow might get another chance despite his pair in the previous game.
Betting
I’m going to finish the series with the one bet which is on Axar Patel to take more than 2.5 first innings wickets. He has had four innings in his Test career and he has taken at least five wicket in the last three of them. The first one he took two wickets but he didn’t get the new ball and came into the attack after R Ashwin. That hasn’t happened since then and with England likely to only play the one left hander in the top nine I don’t see it happening here either.
It hasn’t been the turning ball which has caused the England batsmen the most problems, it has been the one which has kept straight on a lot of the time as that brings the pads and stumps into play unlike Ashwin who will be spinning into the pads and can be swept as a result. Ashwin will still take wickets as he is that good but I expect Kohli to throw the ball to Patel first and he can pick up three wickets before the first England innings concludes.
Tips
WON – Back A.Patel – Over 2.5 first innings wickets for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
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