12BET Predictions: England vs India, 3rd Test match
England will face off against India in the third Test match of India’s tour of England. The visitors picked up a historic 151-run win in the last Test at Lord’s. They now lead the five-match series 1-0 and will want to continue to build momentum, in order to win this series. Team India has played some brilliant live cricket so far against England and will want to continue to do that in the upcoming days.
India:
India’s win at Lord’s came as a much needed boost for Virat Kohli and company after their loss in the WTC final. They played the perfect cricket match and this win could translate into India’s first series win in India since 2007. However, the next game will matter a lot. The problems for India are clear – the failure of their middle order. Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant are yet to go big. While, all four have got starts one time or the other, but a big 100 is still elusive.
Speaking of the team’s strengths, the openers have been phenomenal. Rahul and Rohit have managed to give the team strong foundations to build on. The team’s pace quartet looks like the best India have had in a long time. Ravindra Jadeja is yet to get a wicket, but his contributions with the bat are valuable. And one main difference between India and England is the contribution by the lower order. Bumrah and Shami’s 89-run partnership will be cherished for years, for it speaks how much the Indian tail is ready to wag and frustrate the opposition.
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw
Standby players: Prasidh Krishna, Arzan Nagwaswalla
England:
India have worked around a simple formula – get Joe Root and England’s batting line-up will collapse. The English skipper has been scoring most of the team’s runs. The rest have not done enough. Starting from the failure of openers Burns and Sibley, Jos Buttler’s consistency, Sam Curran’s flak, Jonny Bairstow unable to absorb pressure all become a big problem when grouped.
Bowling-wise James Anderson is basically the Joe Root. He has been carrying the weight alone. At 39, the pacer has been impressive. However, England will need support coming from Ollie Robinson, Sam Curran and Mark Wood.
England squad: Joe Root (c), Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Craig Overton
HEAD-TO-HEAD
India and England have faced each other 127 times in Test matches. India have won 30 matches and the English have emerged victorious on 48 occasions. 49 tests have finished in a draw.
PREDICTION:
Leeds holds some really good memories for English cricket. Headingley saw Ben Stokes guide England to the infamous one-wicket win over Australia. However, there’s no Stokes. Jack Leach, another hero of the match, is likely to be benched. Hence, India could spoil England’s memories at the ground. After winning Lord’s, India do take the advantage.
Date and Time:
Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at 3:30 PM IST
Venue:
Headingley, Leeds
Just visit 12BET where our exclusive promotions are waiting for you. Visit 12BET login and check out the latest games. Claim exclusive benefits and much more.
