After conquering Lord’s, Virat Kohli’s Team India has arrived in Leeds for the third Test against Joe Root’s England which begins from Wednesday. The Headingley stadium has been England’s fortress and India won’t miss out on the opportunity to breach it. They looked extremely balanced in the first two Tests.
The top-order was superb and the pace attack was brutal. However, the concern remains with the middle order that has been under scrutiny. With an aim to take an unassailable lead in the 5-match series, the hosts would like to make some crucial changes in the line-up.
Here’s our India predicted XI for third Test against England:
KL Rahul: After getting his name on the Lord’s honours board, Rahul would be raring to go against England in the third Test. He has been in top form and will be expected to provide good starts as he did in the last two games.
Rohit Sharma: Rohit missed out on a century at Lord’s but he would root for another when he walks out to bat at Headingley on Wednesday. Rohit has been going well in his first England tour as an opener. A triple-figure would make it memorable for the HITMAN.
{{/usCountry}}Rohit Sharma: Rohit missed out on a century at Lord’s but he would root for another when he walks out to bat at Headingley on Wednesday. Rohit has been going well in his first England tour as an opener. A triple-figure would make it memorable for the HITMAN.
{{/usCountry}}Suryakumar Yadav: Team India may hand a debut to Suryakumar Yadav who has done wonders in the limited-overs format. Pujara has been struggling for quite some time now, the management may take this massive step to strengthen their batting line-up.
Virat Kohli: The Indian skipper has led the team phenomenally so far but what he hasn’t done much is score runs. The beginning of the England tour wasn’t good for him but with three more games to go, he would look to end his century drought.
Ajinkya Rahane: With a crucial 61 in the second innings at Lord’s, Rahane made a statement that he cannot be written off easily. The vice-captain will look to have some more runs against in his name. Not to forget his average in overseas Tests.
Rishabh Pant: Full marks for his acrobatic wicketkeeping so far in the series but he needs to do much more than his quick cameos. He has all kinds of shots in his book to leave the opposition bowlers in a state of shock. Another hundred on foreign soil will only add to his greatness.
Ravindra Jadeja / Ravichandran Ashwin: Whom to choose from these two is still a hard question to answer. Jadeja has been brilliant with the bat in the last two games. However, the decision will completely depend upon the conditions.
Mohammed Siraj: Kohli cannot take the risk of leaving out Siraj who has been a dark horse of this new-age Indian bowling attack. He throttled Lord’s with his heroics. Time to show some more powerful performance in Leeds.
Mohammed Shami: In order to add some more fuel to the Indian pace attack, Shami’s presence is essential. Needless to describe his capabilities. And after scoring his 2nd Test fifty at the home of cricket, that too, in a crunch situation, he becomes one of the vital cogs in the team.
Shardul Thakur: The Mumbai pacer may return to the final XI if he is fit to play. And if not, Ishant Sharma becomes the direct choice for the third seamer, especially after the victory at Lord’s.
Jasprit Bumrah: Last but not the least – leader of the Indian pace attack, Jasprit Bumrah. He is on a dream run at the moment and would like to aim for more wickets in the next game.
India’s predicted XI against England for 3rd Test:
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah