England and India will square off in the 4th Test match of the ongoing series on 22nd July at Manchester with England leading the series by 2-1.
Match Preview:
It wasn’t an average game at Lords, it was magnificent, modern Test cricket at its best, and the two sides aiming to not give up. The first four days of the Test was engrossing where one could not predict which side could take the lead in the series.
It was a shame that India could not achieve the target of 193. There was bad luck, injuries, bullying, and drama in the third game of the series but this is something one can expect in the forthcoming Test match as well.
Akash Deep won’t feature in the upcoming Test, Shoaib Bashir who took the last wicket at Lords was bowling with broken left arm has been replaced by Liam Dawson.
Talking about England, their confidence would be high, the way they won the last game, was impressive. Ben Stokes led from the front giving it all and his team followed his path. Jofra Archer despite making a comeback after years in Test cricket did what a class bowler would do. So, the captain would expect the same from his team at Manchester.
The batting, of course has to be better and for that the eyes and the hopes would be on the struggling Zak Crawley. The man who began an Ashes series by smacking its first ball for four is starting to appreciate a new way of doing things. His 128 runs in this series have come off 261 balls. Although he performed well in the 1st game, after that his performance has been questionable.
Talking about India, they would give it all to protect the series. Mohammad Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah have been the pick of the bowlers of the series for the side and it’s highly likely that Bumrah will feature in the next game as well.
While everyone stepped up in the batting unit somehow, Risbah Pant’s performance has been under the radar of criticism. The best of him at Headingley wasn’t enough to win the game for India. Although he was struggling to hold a bat in the last game due to injury, the question is, after the rest of 14 days, can he hold well for India and score as well?
Playing XI:
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Jofra Archer.
India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Karun Nair, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar/Shardul Thakur, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Prasidh Krishna/Anshul Kamboj, 11 Mohammed Siraj.
Pitch and weather report:
Some of England’s faster pitches are typically produced in Manchester. Even with a soft Dukes ball, bowlers may bend their backs due to bounce and carry, while batters who can handle the pace find value in strokes (though not everyone does). With showers predicted for the first and second days, the weather is probably going to be a little problematic.
Head-to-head record:
India and England have faced off 267 times, with England winning 108, India 103, and 50 matches ending in a tie.
Where to Watch:
Pakistan: Tapmad
India: JioHotstar app and website
UK: Sky Go and Sky Now
South Africa: DSTV app
US and Canada: Willow Tv
