India will bowl first for the first time in the series on a track again expected to be nice for batting.
After winning the toss, England opted to bat first, a different decision than their previous two decisions when they fielded first. That means India will bowl first for the first time in the series on a track again expected to be nice for batting.
Ben Stokes already announced England’s XI a day before the game, bringing in Jofra Archer for Josh Tongue as their only change from the previous fixture. Archer will play his first Test after more than four years at a venue where he has bowled a few hostile spells in the past.
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India went with four seamers and one spinner in the first Test, including Shardul Thakur. Further, they handed a debut to Sai Sudharsan, who batted at No.3, and Karun Nair returned to the Test squad.
However, the move didn’t work, as Thakur was expensive in both innings and failed to make a significant impact, even if he had a few wickets here and there. He lacked consistency, while Sudharsan couldn’t score big either.
After losing the first Test at Headingley, India made as many as three changes in their playing XI, dropping Sudharsan and Thakur, while resting Jasprit Bumrah as part of his workload management. They brought Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep, with the former two aiming to add batting depth.
As it turned out, the move worked, and India delivered a better performance with both bat and ball. Sundar’s batting value and tight bowling helped India in different patches, while Akash Deep grabbed as many as ten wickets in a historic win.
For the third Test, India have made only a solitary change, bringing back Bumrah for Prasidh Krishna. Bumrah was certain to come in, and Krishna, who had been slightly unimpressive, had to sit out.
They kept other slots intact, which means Karun Nair gets another crack at No.3. He has failed in both matches, and with Sudharsan waiting for another chance, the pressure is mounting on Nair to deliver.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
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India making only a solitary change means Kuldeep Yadav still remains on the bench. There would have been a temptation to include him for the Lord’s Test, where the pitches have been slow in recent years.
However, India have opted for more batting depth and stuck with the same combination. If they wanted, Kuldeep could have come in for one of Nitish or Washington, but both have a higher batting value than Kuldeep.
Shubman Gill hinted that he will continue with Washington, especially after his crucial partnership with the captain. Then, Sundar also bowled well in both innings and removed a dangerous Ben Stokes in the final dig.
“It’s very tempting when you have a bowler like Kuldeep. One of the reasons why I wanted to play Washington was because he gives us the batting depth.”
If there was any track where Kuldeep’s best could have come, it’s the Lord’s, but the move is understandable from the team’s point of view. Quality-wise, Kuldeep is among the finest; it’s just that India want more assurance in the batting department.
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