India vs England 3rd Test Preview

After a well-deserved 8-day break, the drama resumes at Headingley for the 3rd Test in the 5-match series between England and India. The two sides head into this Test match with two completely contrasting atmospheres following the drastic turn of events on the final day at Lord’s that helped India take a 1-0 series lead.

The Men in Blue will take plenty of confidence from their outstanding performance on Day 5 which saw them dismiss England in only 51.5 overs thanks to the relentless pressure and world-class ability of their four fast bowlers. Virat Kohli’s side have played the better cricket so far in this series and will look to ride that momentum and put the pressure on a struggling England outfit that are missing plenty of their key men. 

Meanwhile, it is back to the drawing board for the hosts as they desperately look to solve their issues with the bat to try and get back into this series. England have been crippled by the lack of runs from the top order with Joe Root shouldering most of the run-scoring burden, scoring nearly 30% of England’s Test runs in 2021.

Team News

Following their humiliating defeat on Day five at Lord’s England have made a few changes to their squad ahead of the 3rd Test match. Two batters who have repeatedly struggled at the top of the order – Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley – have been dropped from the squad for the 3rd Test after averaging 19 and 11 respectively this calendar year. Dawid Malan has been recalled to the Test side for the first time since being dropped during the 2018 Test series against India and is expected to slot in at number three in the XI with Haseeb Hameed opening the batting.

England will also be without Mark Wood for the 3rd Test after the fast bowler injured his shoulder while chasing a ball to the boundary on Day 4 at Lord’s. Wood picked up 5 wickets in the 2nd Test while consistently clocking over 90mph and is set to be replaced by Lancashire fast bowler Saqib Mahmood in the side.

India, on the other hand, will most likely enter the third Test at Headingley with the same combination that won in dramatic fashion at Lord’s with R Ashwin continuing to miss out as Virat Kohli’s side opt for the four fast bowlers along with Ravindra Jadeja.

Probable Starting XI.

England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Saqib Mahmood, James Anderson

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj