- India’s bowling has been more effective than England’s in this series
- England’s top order is unsettled and its bowling lineup is ravaged by injuries
- India has the momentum after dominating the first two Test Matches
The 3rd Test match of India tour of England (INDvENG) will be played between these two teams, The match will begin on 25 August 2021 at 03:30 pm IST.
IND vs ENG MATCH & ANALYSIS
India pulled off one of the most remarkable wins that we have seen in recent times at Lord’s. It was struggling to survive at the start of Day 5 and ended up winning the match by a massive margin.
Now, it is time for the 3rd test match between England and India at Headingley. There have been some changes to the squad for England and India has some problems it needs to address as well.
India has been ahead 1-0 in England before only to lose the plot completely afterward. England has now played four Test Matches at home in 2021 and is still looking for its first win. With three Tests to go, the series is very much alive and we have already seen the intensity of the contest.
There are crucial World Test Championship points at stake to add to everything else.
Match details:
Date: August 25, 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 03:30 PM (IST)
Venue: Headingley, Leeds
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
The pitch at Headingley is generally good to bat on but it does offer some help to the fast-bowlers first up. The average score batting first ere is 307, pretty good for English conditions.
We think the fast-bowler may dominate the first couple of sessions but then the batsmen will enjoy the batting conditions. A couple of centuries (including one big one) are definitely on the cards.
This is also a result-oriented pitch and the previous draw was back in 2012.
The weather forecast for the Test match is not bad and we should get most of the scheduled overs although a few rain delays are inevitable.
IND vs ENG TEAM PREVIEWS
ENGLAND:
England has made two addition and dropped three players from its squad. Dawid Malan and Saqib Mahmood will come in for Dominic Sibley, Jack Leach, and Zak Crawley. This means that Rory Burns and Hasib Hameed can be expected to open the batting with Malan coming in at number three.
England’s top-3 have been woeful in this series so far and things are not going to get easier.
Burns has a top score of 49 while Hameed managed a total of 9 runs in the second match. Betting markets like Highest Opening Partnership or Over/Under Total Runs for Burns and Hameed offer clear opportunities.
Bet against the English top order in current form.
Joe Root continues to remain in imperious form and is certainly looking good for more runs. We think both Dawid Malan and Joe Root could end up scoring some runs for England in the first inning.
Root, Malan, and Bairstow are all from Leeds and so they will be playing in familiar conditions. England’s batting may have underperformed in the second inning of the previous match but keep in mind that it looked set to go past 400 with ease in the first inning.
Reports also suggest that England will be without Mark Wood for this next match. Saqib Mahmood seems set to come in but we think England may also look at dropping Sam Curran. Not only did Current get a King’s Pair in the previous match but he also has just one wicket to his name in the series so far.
England is struggling with injuries and so Curran may keep his place but Craig Overton has a great chance of playing this next match.
Probable XI: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan/ Ollie Pope, Joe Root (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Ollie Robinson, Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, and James Anderson.
INDIA:
The narrative around the Indian team and its selection has completely changed after the result of the Lord’s Test. There was talk of Pujara or Rahane being dropped, Ashwin being recalled, and even a captaincy change being advocated.
All of this has died down now that India has won.
We don’t think India will make any change to its team for the third Test match against England.
Pujara, Kohli, and Rahane are going to be under pressure to score runs but they are not going to be dropped. The only real change that India can consider is swapping out Jadeja for Ashwin but with Jadeja’s batting contributing (he is the third-highest run-getter for India), he is unlikely to be dropped.
What can we expect in this match, then?
India’s batting is vulnerable and there is no doubt about that. It has been rescued by the tail-enders in two innings already. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have more runs than Virat Kohli at the moment.
Also, a green top that favors the fast-bowlers is expected for this match.
This is why you should stay away from betting markets for the Indian batsmen. The odds do not justify the risk at the moment.
The bowlers, though, are in tremendous form. Jasprit Bumrah bowled with fire, Ishant Sharma started to look better as the match progressed, and Mohammad Siraj was phenomenal. Only Mohammad Shami looked sort of energy.
We think you can pick one of Bumrah or Mohammad Siraj for the Top Bowler India 1st Inning Betting market.
The Indian bowlers have shown that they are capable of picking up wickets on any surface and we think England may shoot itself in the foot if it prepares a green track.
Probable XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja/ Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj.
Squads:
INDIA:
RoRohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (WK)
ENGLAND:
Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (WK), Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope (WK), Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood
This was beautiful Admin. Thank you for your reflections.