Big picture: India’s young batters vs England’s young spinners
It feels like we’ve been here before. Scores are level. Expectation is high. An England player had visa issues. India’s No. 4 couldn’t make it. It’s late January 2024 all over again. What a time to be alive.
Especially considering how they have been leaving runs on the board. Rahul Dravid has been telling India that they need to be more pragmatic. Stokes, though, doesn’t really look like he sets a lot of store in such things. He kept tossing the ball to Tom Hartley even as he was smashed all over the park, telling him everything was fine, keep at it. Both methods worked. Yashasvi Jaiswal benefited from a little restraint, scoring a double-century in an innings where no one else made more than 34. Hartley recovered from being hit for six first ball to become his team’s leading wicket-taker after two Tests.
Form guide
India WLWLD (last five Test, most recent first)
England LWWDW
In the spotlight: Rohit Sharma and Joe Root
Team news: Jadeja set to return, Jurel in line for debut
India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Sarfaraz Khan, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dhruv Jurel/KS Bharat (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Rehan Ahmed, 9 Tom Hartley, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson
Pitch and conditions: It’s cool and it’s flat
There are runs expected in Rajkot. The local boy Jadeja said the surface will start out flat and then take a little turn as natural wear and tear sets in. The weather has been quite cool in the lead-up to the Test – early 20C in the mornings, rising to low 30C in the afternoons – and is expected to be so for the duration of it as well, so that’s another good sign for the batters. Without a lot of sun, the pitch might not break up as quickly.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
“Obviously I’m very excited because I’ve been playing with him for 12-13 years. To achieve this milestone is a really, really big thing, to complete 500 Test wickets. I’m very happy for him. I thought he would complete his 500 wickets in the first match, but it’s okay, whatever is written in destiny. He will complete it in Rajkot, in my hometown.”
Ravindra Jadeja on Ashwin’s impending milestone
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo