India will look to continue the momentum they gained from the successful Test series in Australia when they take on England in the upcoming four-match Test series. 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. England, who come into the tour after drubbing Sri Lanka, also seem to be in a good vein of form.
It will be interesting to see how India responds after the highs of the Australia tour. Virat Kohli returns to the team after his paternity leave with Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin also recovering from their respective injuries. So how does Gautam Gambhir see the series playing out? Gambhir says that he 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 matfor 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.”
{{/usCountry}}“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.”
{{/usCountry}}“This is going to be a completely different challenge for someone like Joe Root. Yes, he has played really well in Sri Lanka, but when you have to face people like Jasprit Bumrah on any wicket, or for that matter, Ravichandran Ashwin, when his confidence is sky-high after what he has done in Australia, I am sure it is going to be a completely different beast and a completely different ball game.”
The first Test between India and England will take place on February 5th at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.