The Indian team pulled off a scintillating win in the ENG vs IND 2nd Test at Edgbaston to level the five-match series at 1-1 after losing the opener at Leeds. India skipper Shubman Gill led from the front with a double century in ton (269 and 161) in the two innings as India piled over 1k runs in the game, which they eventually won by a big margin of 336 runs.
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Following the loss, England captain Ben Stokes labelled the Edgbaston strip as a subcontinent-type pitch. However, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak played down Stokes’ comments and gave a fitting response to the criticism.
Speaking to the media ahead of the third Test at Lord’s, Kotak was quoted as saying,
“Personally, I didn’t think it was a subcontinent wicket. When our bowlers bowled, it always moved. Even in the second innings, even after 40 overs, the ball was moving. On the last day also there was spin but when you make such a hard pitch with grass, there will not be a lot of rough but there will be footmarks which is what happened with Ravindra Jadeja on Day 5. Overall, I think they tried to make a high scoring hard hitting wicket.”
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The upcoming game will be a decisive contest as the winner will take a much-needed lead and will be just one win away from securing the series.
Talismanic India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the Edgbaston game, is likely to make a comeback. Notably, he is expected to play only three out of the five Tests in a bid to manage his workload. The speedster could either come in for Prasidh Krishna or Akash Deep, or in place of an extra all-rounder that India opted for in the second Test.
While the batting department looks sorted and coach Gautam Gambhir is unlikely to tinker with it, Karun Nair will be under a lot of pressure to deliver a big score especially with the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran waiting on the flanks. It remains to be seen if Nair maintains his place in the playing XI or not.
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