When and Where to Watch England vs India Live Streaming, Match Preview, Timings, and Pitch Report for 4th Test

The series is levelled at 1-1, who gets to take the next punch?

Published - 01 Sept 2021, 18:22 IST | Updated - 01 Sept 2021, 18:22 IST

3 Min Read

The series is well poised at 1-1 going into the fourth Test at the Oval in London, and the fans would not have asked for anything more than that. Ahead of this game, it seems that both teams are quite balanced, as they have had some performances in the last few weeks to stand up and make a case for themselves on paper. But, in reality, both the teams are flawed.

If England’s innings and 76 runs win at Leeds was anything to do, it was to add a few questions in Indian management’s head while also showing their deficiencies. It is important to acknowledge though, that there were a lot of things that went right for England in Leeds. Despite that, their performance was encouraging, especially the batting.

As far as India is concerned, Virat Kohli and co. have been put under a lot of pressure in the last year and they seem to bounce back from that. The Leeds mishap can be just a little low; they need to get back at their level again. One thing is for sure if India needs a good performance to ensure history is written, this is the game in which they got to make things happen.

Playing combinations for India and England

England

Ahead of the fourth Test, England is facing a bit of a conundrum after suddenly having a bunch of fast-bowlers available. Craig Overton did well in the previous match but could be replaced with Mark Wood, who has supposedly recovered.

Chris Woakes is also back in the squad and should be back in the XI in place of Sam Curran. There are murmurs of resting James Anderson, but given the importance of this match, England is unlikely to do so. Jonny Bairstow will take the gloves in Jos Buttler’s absence, while Ollie Pope will most certainly come back in the XI.

Predicted XI: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Ollie Pope, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood/Craig Overton, James Anderson

India

There have been several questions put on the batting unit of the visitors and one can expect that after two collapses in one match. But, with India, it seems likely that the management will back the same batting unit, without making any change.

Ravindra Jadeja who had a bit of an injury scare after the previous Test has been confirmed to be recurring for selection for this game. Ravichandran Ashwin seems like the only player who will come into this XI, considering the pitch. He is likely to replace Ishant Sharma.

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah