England Play For Pride As India Aims Whitewash
Chennai is almost back to its feet and ready to host the fifth and the final India vs England Test match of this 5 match series, after being hit by Cyclone Vardah which tampered the peace of the city and its people. For England, nothing seems to have fallen into place throughout the series. Alastair Cook’s hinting at giving up his captaincy, James Anderson speaking something that is not even relevant, players getting injured at the wrong time, have added to England’s miseries throughout the tour.
England look to avoid whitewash
The final Test match thus in many ways is an opportunity for England to put one back on India and add something to the score line which currently reads 3-0. Everything for England will again come down to the fact that how they play as a team and come over individual performances which have been the case so far for the “Three Lions”.
Cook and Joe Root will again have to be the backbone of the batting line up and with their lower order making vital contributions; they will like to keep that going. Where England has really lacked the firepower is in the bowling department. Spearheads like Broad and Anderson had no effect at all in the series. This also somewhere points out the fact that they are not as good in the subcontinent as they are back in England.
What this means is that the England spinners in Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali will have to do most of the bowling. Together they have scalped 31 wickets so far and one expects that they will have to pick some more if England is to win the Test match.
Virat Kohli could break Gavaskar’s record
India on the other hand are well placed with an unassailable lead and had some good preparation for their upcoming home series against the mighty Australians who are currently playing Pakistan in their own backyard.
India’s key men in Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli are in the form of their life currently supported well by others like Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja forming the core of the team. Once Ajinkya Rahane comes back in the team, the team will become all the more compact and complete. Virat Kohli who now has over 600 runs in the series has a chance to top Sunil Gavaskar’s 774 against West Indies, which he scored at his prime. Hopefully Chennai gets to see another masterpiece from Kohli after the recent disaster to spur into life again.
As far as the playing conditions at Chennai are considered for this Test match, the TNCA has said that the cyclone has not damaged the ground conditions and that the cricket will not be affected.