The Virat Kohli-led side will be raring to go against England in the most awaited test series starting from Wednesday (4th August). The series is comprised of five test matches, with the first Test to be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Both the teams are packed with star players, so the series promises to be full of twists and turns. Let’s look at the England vs India key battles to watch out for.
England vs India key battles
Virat Kohli vs James Anderson
One of the most intriguing battles to watch out for in the whole series. The duo first came against each other in the 2014 series, where Virat struggled against the veteran. On most occasions, Kohli ended up edging him towards the slips cordon. He had one of the worst series of his career. He scored 1, 8, 25, 0, 37, 28, 0,7, 6, and 20 in five Test averaging 13.50 in his 10 innings – his lowest in a series involving three or more tests.
In 2018, it was Virat Kohli’s redemption. Kohli’s approach was totally different in this series. Watching the ball closely, leaving balls outside off stump, playing close to the body, playing with soft hands, covered the swing, the footwork was more assured whenever he met the ball on the front foot.
Virat has scored 236 runs in 565 balls against Anderson in Tests. Anderson has dismissed him five times. In 2014, Anderson dismissed Kohli four times in 50 balls while in 2018, Anderson failed to dismiss Kohli on all occasions. It will be interesting to see who wins the battle this time.
2. Stuart Broad vs Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara has been one of the backbones of the Indian team in Tests. He showed incredible resistance in the Test series Down Under. He has aggregated 6267 runs in 86 matches at an average of 46.1. But Pujara will face a tough challenge from Stuart Broad in the forthcoming test series.
Stuart Broad is the 7th highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, and the second England bowler to have taken over 500 (517) Test wickets. Broad will look to continue his same form against India. Pujara has scored 167 runs in 355 balls, while Broad has dismissed him four times in Tests so far.
Pujara has been a bit off-color lately. He hasn’t scored a Test hundred in over two years. He has struggled against the balls which came back into him. So, Broad will look to target his pads, and get him out LBW.
3. Ravichandran Ashwin vs Joe Root
Ravichandran Ashwin has been one of the most vital members of India’s squad in Test Cricket. In the forthcoming test series against England, Ashwin is the key for India. He has looked in great form in recent times. He took a five-wicket haul for Surrey in the County Championship. Joe has ripped apart the Sri Lankan bowling attack in February, and also played spin well against India in the last series.
Joe Root will be high on confidence and will look to continue the same form in the series. Over the years, Ashwin has had the better of Joe Root. He has dismissed Root five times in test cricket, while Root scoring 360 runs facing 583 balls. It would be interesting to see how Joe Root fares against Ashwin in this Test series.
