There are big stakes on the line as India take on England in a four-match Test series that starts on Friday from the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Both teams are looking to qualify for the World Test Championship final and a win in the Test series would boost their chances of facing New Zealand at at Lord's in England.
Ahead of the Test series, the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a tweet that gave a ‘behind-the-scenes’ peek at Team India’s photoshoot for the England series.
Virat Kohli will return for the series as he will captain India against England. Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin have also recovered from their respective injuries and will make their return to the team.
India will look to continue the momentum they gained from the successful Test series in Australia. Team India defeated Australia 2-1 in the four-match Test series and grabbed the first spot in the World Test Championship with the win. On the other hand, England are also in good form as they defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in the two-match Test series.
{{/usCountry}}India will look to continue the momentum they gained from the successful Test series in Australia. Team India defeated Australia 2-1 in the four-match Test series and grabbed the first spot in the World Test Championship with the win. On the other hand, England are also in good form as they defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in the two-match Test series.
{{/usCountry}}India are favourites for the series and former India opener Gautam Gambhir expects India to dominate the series.
“It has to be 3-0 India or probably 3-1. I’m only going to give a Pink Ball Test match, probably 50-50 to England just from the conditions point of view. I don’t see England winning any of the Test matches with the kind of spin attack they’ve got,” Gambhir said on the Star Sports’ show Game Plan.
Gambhir also maintained that it is important for cricketers to win things for their country rather than personal achievements.
“As any cricketer would say, it’s not about hundreds, it’s about the runs you can score to help your team win is very important. And yes, it clearly doesn’t matter if Virat hasn’t batted in Australia, obviously, he would love to, but the most important thing is that he has to look forward to is the England series and he knows that how important the England series is if they want to qualify for the World Test Championship final.”