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| After India trounced England in the second Test, captain Virat Kohli punches the air, but Kohli will be looking for a return to form in the third Test, as well as a 2-0 series lead. |
When the third Test of the five-match series begins here on Wednesday, a supremely confident India will aim to tighten the noose on a faltering England, and captain Virat Kohli will be expected to overcome his extended dry spell.
In the first two Tests, he appeared a little vulnerable around the off-stump, so expect him to show a tighter technique when the ball is pitched on the fourth stump at Headingley.
The batting prowess of openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul has been India's biggest plus in the field. Both have displayed exceptional patience and technique in stressful situations to help the squad get off to a strong start.
With each innings, Rahul, who was rushed into the team to replace the injured Mayank Agarwal, has gained confidence and appears to know which balls to play and which to leave, which is crucial for success in English conditions.
Rohit, too, has looked in magnificent form, and all he needs to do now is figure out when to play his signature pull shot, which he has failed to do twice in the series.
Rishabh Pant will play as he always does, while Ravindra Jadeja has also performed admirably at number seven. He can be described as a batsman rather than a left-arm spinner in the team.
With cold and favourable conditions for pacers forecast at Headingley, India are expected to maintain their four-pronged pace attack, leaving no room for off-spinner R Ashwin once more.
Although Shardul Thakur is fully fit, Kohli is unlikely to make any changes to the speed assault that won India the game at Lord's on day five.
Ishant Sharma, who missed the first Test, was outstanding at Lord's, and the vastly experienced pacer is likely to be favoured over Thakur, who is a poorer bowler but a stronger hitter than Ishant
In the third Test, Virat Kohli is hoping to reclaim his form - photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Mohammad Siraj, who was phenomenal on day five and has impressed many with his relentless accuracy, has strengthened the firepower of the world-class attack. The last time India played here was in 2002, when they won by an innings and 46 runs
None of the current players have played on this surface before, so it will be interesting to see how they adapt to the situation.
England, on the other hand, will be hoping that the addition of white-ball specialist Dawid Malan can alleviate their batting troubles. Malan hasn't played a Test match in three years, but with his extensive first-class experience, he's expected to deliver.
Haseeb Hameed will open with Rory Burns, with the southpaw batting at number three. England's batsmen must find a way to score and assist captain Joe Root, who has scored the majority of the team's runs thus far.
Because Mark Wood, who caused problems for the Indian batsmen with his extra pace, is injured, Saqib Mahmood is in line to make his Test debut on Wednesday
Root revealed ahead of the game that, aside from Wood, the team is in fantastic health, with lead pacer James Anderson also in fine shape.
After things got heated up at Lord's, Root has intimated that his team will not be lured into needless arguments with the opposition players
SQUADS
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav
England: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson
Despite his already injury-plagued team being handed another blow ahead of the third Test against India at Headingley on Wednesday, England skipper Joe Root insists he is "still living my boyhood dream."
Root's side are 1-0 down in the five-match series after losing by 151 runs at Lord's in the second Test, and their challenge of catching up was made more tougher when fast bowler Mark Wood was ruled out of this week's match at the skipper's home stadium in Yorkshire.
Wood has joined Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, and Olly Stone as England's sidelined quicks after sustaining a shoulder injury jumping into an advertising hoarding to save a boundary at Lord's
In terms of batting, Root has been a lone bright spot in a top-order that has failed to produce runs on numerous occasions during England's current run of seven Tests without a win.
Despite his brilliant first-innings 180 and a maximum score of 33 in the second, England were bowled for just 120 in 52 overs at Lord's on the last day
England are likely to promote Haseeb Hameed from three to partner Rory Burns at the top of the order after dropping Dom Sibley due to the opener's poor run of low scores, which has seen him average 19.77 in ten Tests this year.
With the returned Dawid Malan slated to bat at first-wicket down, England will have used 22 different opening partnerships since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012.
Despite the problems that Test openers face across the world — the average first-wicket partnership has been only 30.38 runs since 2017 — India's KL Rahul (129) and Rohit Sharma (83) put on a 126-run stand at Lord's in a match that England was in until the last day.
Root stated on Monday, "I'm playing for England and I'm playing Test cricket." "It's simple to stay positive in that regard because I'm living my childhood dream.
"I try to remind myself of this all the time, especially when we're having a bad day or things aren't going our way. I couldn't think of anything else to do when I was ten years old "Added the 30-year-old.
England's batters might learn a lot from India's Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who are both under duress
Rahane overcame a run of poor scores to reach 61 in the second innings at Lord's, with India effectively 28-3 when he came into bat after skipper Virat Kohli was dismissed.
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