Mumbai: We have had all the drama so far. While England dominated the first Test but India managed to pull off a draw, India won quite convincingly at Rajkot and at Mohali. When both the teams meet at Mumbai, both teams would have its own reason to play for. India would want to win the Test and with it claim the series as well, however, England must find a way out to win the remaining two Tests and manage a 2-2 draw with India. Which team would manage to fulfill its goal will depend on how they execute their plans.
For India, they have managed to execute either their Plan A or Plan B has come to their rescue. On the other hand, England have failed to put up an alternate plan if their first plan has failed. For instance, when India were six down for just over 200 runs, England just could not find a way to wrap up the tail, which eventually turned out to be a massive shift in momentum. Wankhede Test might again see changes in either sides, but chances of changes in Indian team could be minimum. England should fix their batting order, with H Hameed being ruled out for the remaining of the series. This might force them to try out a different combination or Joe Root might open the innings for England. In the batting department Alaistar Cook and Joe Root must lead the show and all batsmen must not give it away after reaching a half century or playing a 100 balls. If one England batsmen scores a big 100, that is enough for the entire team to revolve around. As far as bowling is concerned, England must get 20 wickets as quickly as possible. Test matches cannot be won if the other team is declaring or scoring above 400 every single time. While Adil Rashid has impressed other bowlers must also step up and keep the pressure from the other end.
Captain Virat Kohli would be a little anxious as Ajinkya Rahane has been ruled out as he sustained an avulsion fracture on his right index finger. Though, Rahane had failed with the bat in this series, he has been an integral part of India’s middle order batting. To ot Mohammed Shami too is suffering from a sore knees and Sardul Thakur has been called as a back up. However, England would have a tougher job with that batting order going very deep up till Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav is no typical tail-ender either. Almost everyone has impressed with the ball and it has been a good team effort to get the opposition all out.
Something that goes without saying, the toss would again play an important role but luck should be backed up by actions. The Wankhede has seen many historic moments, can the red Wankhede wicket produce another Test to remember will depend on how the surface behaves and how the teams adapt. The only team which could win the series from here is India that might just be a bit of psychological advantage.
Action begins on 8th December 2016 at 9:30 AM IST Live from Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
