Cricket News-India in England: Is India prepared for English conditions?

The Indian test team led by Rohit Sharma is currently in Leicester playing the practice match against Leicester County cricket club. Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasidh Krishna are playing for Leicester so that all players can get some match practice.

India previously won a test series against England while touring England in 2007. 

Since then, India has played 3 test series (2011, 2014, 2018) in England but managed to win only 2 test matches out of 14. As part of the five-match test series against England in England in 2021, India played only four test matches as the fifth test was postponed indefinitely due to the scare of rising covid cases in the team camp. BCCI and ECB agreed to schedule the fifth test match before the limited-overs series from July 1-5. The Indian team led by Virat Kohli in 2021 is currently leading the series by 2-1. 

The captains and coaches of both teams are changed between the fourth and the fifth test match. Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli as Indian Test captain, and Ben Stokes replaced Joe Root as the new English test captain. Rahul Dravid and Brendon McCullum are appointed new coaches for their respective teams. It is a golden opportunity for team India to win the Test series and advance in the World Test Championship (WTC) table. Note that India needs to win at least 6 out of their next 7 test matches to qualify for the final of WTC. England won two test matches against New Zealand, returning to the momentum after losing Ashes 2021-22.

What makes English conditions challenging?

The pitches in England are very different from Asian countries. The pitches in England contain a bit of grass which offers the bowlers an extra swing and seam movement. Any bowler with good seam presentation can be dangerous in such conditions. James Anderson and Stuart Broad are recreating the art of such bowling, which will surely trouble Indian batters. 

While rain is one of the most prominent factors affecting test matches in England, the moisture content in the atmosphere adds turbulence on the sides of the ball, giving it swing in the direction of air. However, on sunny days, the smart batter can leave bowlers helpless in the absence of swing aided by moisture. 

How did the Indian side sail in the practice match?

BCCI already announced Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the openers for the fifth test as KL Rahul was injured before the T20 series against South Africa. They played decently in the ongoing practice match, but India expects an extensive opening partnership from them. Srikar Bharat, the wicket-keeper batsman, played brilliantly in the practice match scoring 70* and 43 in two innings. Rohit and Dravid will try to get him into the playing 11. Virat Kohli looked confident after scoring 33(69) after getting dismissed due to a controversial decision of the umpire. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s batting could be a concern for India after getting dismissed for 0 and 13 in the practice match. Mohammed Shami and Jadeja bowled impressively, taking three wickets each. Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur took two wickets and looked good. It is a pleasing sight to see Rishabh Pant scoring runs after a few trolled him for his poor batting in the recent T20 series. Jasprit Bumrah, as a wicket-taker, needs to get to his best to increase the chances of India winning the test series. Cheteshwar Pujara played for Sussex County club during the IPL, scoring 582 runs in 4 games with two centuries and two double-centuries. Overall, the Indian test team is preparing well for England conditions.