India Vs England, 3rd Test: Three Key Battles To Watch Out For In Rajkot

The series is well and truly living up to its billing. The English batters were expectedly greeted with spin-friendly conditions in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, but their aggressive, uncluttered Bazball-mindedness took the fight to the Indian spinners. If not for the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah, and Yashasvi Jaiswal's own brand of 'Bazball' (call it 'Jaisball'), the five-match Test series would not be level at 1-1, heading into the third game at Rajkot starting Thursday, February 15. (Streaming |IND vs ENG Day 4 Live Blog)

The magnetic Virat Kohli is conspicuous by his absence, but the contest remains fascinating, nevertheless. With talismanic all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja fit again and raring to go at his home ground, Rohit Sharma and Co will be ready to take on the fresh challenge posed by Ben Stokes' men, who have included speedster Mark Wood in their playing XI at the expense of young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.

Leggie Rehan Ahmed faced visa trouble similar to what Bashir encountered earlier in the tournament, but Ahmed thankfully did not have to wait as long and the issue has been resolved. The leg-break bowler has been named in England's arsenal alongside Tom Hartley, as the visitors have opted for a twin-pronged pace attack in the form of Wood and veteran James Anderson.

England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.

India are yet to announce their playing XI and are likely to do so at the toss, on the first morning of the Test. The big news, apart from Kohli's continued absence and Jadeja's return is that middle-order batter KL Rahul has been ruled out due to a sore knee. His Karnataka teammate Devdutt Padkikkal has been called in as cover.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal.

About The Venue

The match will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, where two Tests have been played earlier. The pitch has a reputation of being a flat one, though it is bound to deteriorate as the game goes on. It remains to be seen what the curators dish out for this game, with the series so intriguingly poised.

ALSO READ: Ian Chappell's Prediction

Head-To-Head Record

India and England have locked horns 133 times in Tests, of which India have won only 32 times. England enjoy the better of the exchanges, with 51 victories under their belt, and 50 matches ended in a draw.

Key Battles

Let's take a look at three key-player battles that could dictate how the IND vs ENG, 3rd Test shapes up in Rajkot.

Yashasvi Jaiswal Vs James Anderson

With his superlative double hundred in Visakhapatnam, Yashasvi Jaiswal laid the foundation for India's series-levelling win. His confident stroke-making belies his age and shows he is undaunted by the enormity of the stage or the challenge of bowlers and conditions.

But in James Anderson, the southpaw has an adversary nonpareil. The swing-bowling maestro dismissed Jaiswal in both innings of the previous Test, and the battle of the 22-year-old against the 41-year-old is bound to be an engrossing one again.

Ravindra Jadeja Vs Ben Stokes

He was sidelined from the second Test due to a hamstring injury, but Ravindra Jadeja is fit again and likely to play a pivotal role at his home ground in Saurashtra. He knows the conditions here like the back of his hand, and will be looking to contribute three-dimensionally as always - with bat, ball and in the field.

Jadeja's left-arm spin in particular will be invaluable to the hosts, but if there is someone who can tackle it well for the visitors, it is skipper Ben Stokes. Stokes has the ability as well as temperament to switch gears as the situation demands, and also has the added experience of facing Jadeja at the Chennai Super Kings nets, which could come in handy.

Jasprit Bumrah Vs Joe Root

This one is a battle for the ages. Paeans have been written over Bumrah's artistry with the ball in the second Test, and the way he set Joe Root up in the first innings with an expert display of reverse and conventional movement.

It was the eighth time Bumrah had dismissed Root in Test matches, proving how he has the England batting mainstay's number. But if there is one thing Root has in abundance, it is doggedness, and the prolific run-getter will be eager to stand up and be counted with a big score in the third Test. What better way to do it, than by warding off the Bumrah threat.