Boosted by the stellar batting effort that helped India secure a draw in Manchester, the visitors, still trailing 1-2 in the five-Test series, are faced with a must-win situation when they take on England in the fifth and final match at The Oval, starting Thursday.
Photo: IANS
Boosted by the stellar batting effort that helped India secure a draw in Manchester, the visitors, still trailing 1-2 in the five-Test series, are faced with a must-win situation when they take on England in the fifth and final match at The Oval, starting Thursday.
With merely a three-day turnaround period between the fourth and fifth Tests, it will be challenging for both sides to sort out their combinations. While England have already revealed their Playing XI for the final Test, making four changes, including skipper Ben Stokes, being ruled out due to a shoulder injury, it will be interesting to see whether India, apart from the forced change of injured Rishabh Pant, also plan to rest pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, considering the fact that he has already featured in three matches as announced during the pre-departure presser.
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Bumrah, who bowled 33 overs in England’s mammoth first innings’ total of 669 at Old Trafford, looked completely out of steam by the end of it. With 14 wickets from three matches, the 31-year-old is the joint-highest wicket-taker for India in the series along with his new-ball partner Mohammed Siraj.
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On the eve of the Test, India skipper Shubman Gill did not reveal much about the possible team combination, and said that a call regarding Bumrah’s participation will be taken only on Thursday morning.
He also hinted at handing a Test debut to left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, but did not confirm if the Punjab pacer will be included in place of Bumrah. The left-arm seamer has recovered from his injury and will bring a pair of fresh legs to the Indian bowling arsenal.
Akash Deep is also set to replace the unimpressive Anshul Kamboj in the XI. The latter had an average speed in the low 130s in Manchester and did not look threatening at all at any stage of the contest.
It would be interesting to see whether the team management goes for the potentially game-changing inclusion of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the decider. The wrist spinner has 56 wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 22.16 and was the Player of the Match in his last encounter against England in Dharamsala in March last year.
While Kuldeep is yet to feature in the ongoing tour, Yadav’s inclusion could depend on the pitch conditions at The Oval, with Gill backing both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar as the first-choice options.
Shardul Thakur is the most likely candidate who could make way for Kuldeep. Although the all-rounder shone with the bat in Manchester, his bowling has been a cause of worry on this tour. Thakur has picked just two wickets in as many Tests at an average of 72 while also leaking runs at 5.33 per over.
England on the other hand, named Ollie Pope as their stand-in captain for the final Test, after Stokes was ruled out due to a right shoulder injury. Stokes injured his shoulder during the fourth Test, where he picked up five wickets in the first innings and scored a marathon 141 when batting.
While the star all-rounder had hinted in the post-match press conference that he would likely be available for the final Test, the shoulder issue has now ruled him out of the series finale.
England have opted to freshen up their bowling attack after spending more than 250 overs in the field during the previous Test, with only Chris Woakes retaining his place from the fourth Test at Old Trafford. The rest of the bowling line-up, comprising Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Liam Dawson were rested from the XI, making way for Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jacob Bethell.
Atkinson returned after recovering from a right hamstring injury sustained during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May, while Tongue is back, having featured in the first two matches of the series. Bethell, replacing Dawson, is expected to lead the spin department with support from Joe Root. Jamie Overton too made the cut, having been added to the squad after the fourth Test.
Squads:
India: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Anshul Kamboj, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, N Jagadeesan.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.
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