England vs India, 5th Test, Preview: Can Virat Kohli's men stop the hosts from rubbing salt in their wounds?

India's history at the venue isn't pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.

Published - 06 Sept 2018, 19:22 IST | Updated - 06 Sept 2018, 19:22 IST

2 Min Read

The Test series between England and India have thus far been full of excitement and eventually it was the Three Lions who won the series 3-1. Joe Root’s men won the last encounter at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton by a margin of 60 runs to seal the fate of the series. The final Test at Kennington Oval in London starts tomorrow and it’s nothing but a mere dead rubber.

The encounter won’t have any consequence as far as the result of the series is concerned, but India can definitely show some fight and mitigate the pain of their poor performances. On a number of instances, Virat Kohli and Co got the Poms by the scruff of their necks and seemed to be the firm favourites to run away with the game, but that eventually wasn’t the case by any means.

India’s history at the venue isn’t pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. Out of 12 Tests, the visiting team has only won one match back in 1971 under Late Ajit Wadekar. Moreover, the team has slumped to innings defeats in their last two appearances here in 2011 and 2014. The Brits, on the contrary, are in a good stead and would be keen to end their campaign with another resounding show.

Team Combination

England

The home team has decided to stick with the same eleven from their erstwhile contest. The match will be an emotional ride for Alastair Cook, who will be making his last international appearance. The 33-year-old will open with Keaton Jennings, who hasn’t had the best of series with the willow. The experience of Joe Root needs to come to the fore as well.

Jonny Bairstow, who didn’t keep wickets in Southampton, will take back the wicketkeeping gloves from Jos Buttler. Moeen Ali didn’t get an opportunity in the first three Tests but ripped India apart with his guile and trajectory. Adil Rashid will be his bowling partner in the spin department. The experienced pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad is likely to share the new cherry.

Predicted XI

Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (C), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

India

India may give Dinesh Karthik an opportunity in place of Rishabh Pant, who was a tad lacklustre in his first two matches. Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t look in great shape last time around and he may make way for Ravindra Jadeja, who is yet to get a chance in the series. Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul will be the openers, which means that Prithvi Shaw will have to wait a bit more.

Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, will again be the nucleus of the team. Hardik Pandya, barring the third Test, hasn’t hit his straps one bit, but the management will give him one more opportunity. The pace bowling department will be untouched with the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, India’s leading wicket-taker in the series, and Jasprit Bumrah in the ranks.

Predicted XI

Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

Players to watch out for

Alastair Cook- England

Cook is in middle of a pretty rough patch owing to which he eventually decided to bid adieu to international cricket. He has strained to score even a half-century. In his final match, the Glouster-born 33-year-old batsman would dearly want to contribute with a substantial knock in his last hurray and hopefully win the contest for his beloved team.

Cheteshwar Pujara- India

Pujara eventually managed to find his form when he scored a masterful 132 in the last contest. However, the Gujarat-born batter would be disappointed for the reason that he couldn’t replicate the form in the second innings and help India chase down 245 runs. The upcoming match will be another chance for him to show his class of playing under trying conditions.