India will need to be ruthless and tactful in equal measure while dealing with an unpredictable England when the third chapter of a riveting Test series begins in Rajkot on Thursday.
After England shocked India in the series opener at Hyderabad, the hosts came back strong in Vizag to get on level footing, leaving the five-match series perfectly poised.
The brilliance of Yashasvi Jaiswal (321 runs) and Jasprit Bumrah (15) allowed India to make a comeback in the series but concerns remain over a misfiring middle-order, which will now be relying on the young talent to deliver the goods.
Skipper Rohit Sharma's form with the bat before the eight-day break only added to the growing concern surrounding the Indian batting, which will be without K L Rahul in this game and Virat Kohli for the entirety of the series.
Sarfaraz, Patidar to stabilise middle-order
Over the last one year or so, Rohit's aggressive approach with the bat has not yielded him big scores and the current situation demands the Indian skipper to perhaps contemplate changing gears.
Rahul's unavailability for the third Test has put forth the possibility of Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan getting his long awaited debut in the longest format. The domestic run machine could be teaming up with one-Test old Rajat Patidar to occupy two of the most coveted batting spots in the middle order.
India's glaring inexperience in the middle-order would have been well noted by the English camp, whose robust research on opponents and aggressive play has time and again delivered results.
Jurel to replace Bharat?
Wicketkeeper KS Bharat's persistent failures with the bat has raised the possibility of India turning to Uttar Pradesh's 23-year-old Dhruv Jurel, who is known for his aggressive batting.
With an average of 46.47 in 15 First-Class matches, Jurel has given a fine account of himself. With the pitch at Rajkot not expected to be a rank turner, a debut here would only help Jurel ease into the world of top flight cricket.
With local hero Cheteshwar Pujara no more in the plans of the selectors, there will be a high anticipation from the local hero Ravindra Jadeja to get back into the ring and deliver for India, whose spinners were outmatched by England in the first two Tests.
Numbers tell only one side of the story and India's think tank will not be overly concerned with how their spinners have averaged collectively (38.39) compared to England's (33.90).
Unlike in the past where spinners would rule the roost and fast bowling reduced to mere formalities, this series has witnessed a stunning turnaround which has, fortunately for India, coincided with Bumrah being at his absolute best.
Bumrah's brilliance in the first two Tests has stood tall and to some extent saved the blushes for the celebrated spinners who have not thrived in the absence of rank turners.
With the pitch at Rajkot being traditionally friendly to the batters, India will have to pick one among chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, with the latter winning the vote purely on his batting credentials.
Sitting on 499 wickets, India's premier spinner R Ashwin will be expected to enter the elite 500-club over the course of the game.
England bring in Wood
England too are expecting the pitch to be batting friendly at least in the initial phase of the game, prompting one change to their playing eleven. They have brought in a second pacer in Mark Wood in place of spinner Shoaib Bashir.
“Taking a bit of knowledge from the last Test we played here a long time ago (in 2016). It was a pretty flat wicket and looking at it today I think it looks good,” said skipper Ben Stokes on the eve of the game.
“Bringing in an extra seamer is the option we have gone with because we think that is going to give us the best chance of winning this week.”
Back from their Abu Dhabi base where the players spent time away from the game, the relaxed mood in the England camp is easily perceptible.
Tom Hartley's confidence has grown multi-fold from the time he stepped on the Indian shores. His probing line and lengths have persistently questioned the Indian batters and with the bat, his aggressive approach has matched the team's philosophy.
It remains to be seen if sharing spin bowling workload is taking more out of Joe Root than it should, but England will have no other option but to lean on the senior-most batter for wickets given Jack Leach is ruled out of the series with a knee injury. He will also be expected get back to his consistent ways with the bat.
Stokes set for 100th Test
Ollie Pope played an innings of a lifetime at Hyderabad to set up England's win but twin failures in the second Test put focus on him as well as Jonny Bairstow.
On the cusp of his 100th Test, Ben Stokes would like to look back at the fine 128 here he made at the SCA stadium in the drawn Test of the 2016 tour.
His leadership has been inspiring thus far in the series and one can expect more bold calls from him over the course of the next five days.
Teams (from):
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), 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.
England: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Shoaib Bashir, Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
Time: 9:30 AM IST.
