After a scintillating victory at the Lord's for Indian cricket team, England have bounced back in fabulous style at the Headingley by winning comprehensively with an inning and 76 runs. England completely dominated India and finished the game within four days. Team India would be itching to take a series lead at Oval before heading to the 5th Test which is set to be played in Manchester. The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli (in the press conference) has also stated that the team would bounce back as they love playing under pressure and their troops get hungrier when there's a tough challenge lying ahead of them.
With the series scoreline reading 1-1 after the three Test matches played so far between these two top quality sides, cricket fans can expect a cracker of a game when these two lock horns at the Kia Oval in London.
PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS:-
The Kia Oval pitch has usually been one of the most flattest pitches in England and batsmen from both the sides are going to love batting here and score a truckload of runs. The last time when India and England played a Test match at this venue, the totals in all the 4 innings were around 300 runs.
The conditions would be pretty good for batting as there is expected to be no rain and very less amount of cloud cover for the first four days of the Test with a slight and low chance of scattered thunderstorms on day 5. The ideal scenario would be to win the toss and bat first as batting is quite easier in the initial days of this game as compared to later in the game. The spinners could get some help from the pitch if the wicket becomes dry due to hot weather and the footmarks. If the conditions are overcast in the latter stages of the game, fast bowlers could come to the party.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:-
Joe Root - The new No.1 Test batsmen in ICC rankings has had a extraordinary year in red ball cricket so far. He has been the backbone of his team in this series by scoring 3 centuries in 3 matches. He also has a great record against India at this venue.
KL Rahul - He has been the highest scorer of his team in this series so far and he also has fond memories playing at this venue as he scored a ton the last time both the teams squared off against each other at the Oval.
Ollie Robinson - The fast bowling all rounder has been the highest wicket taker in the series so far as he has taken 2 fifers and has been very effective in the 3 Tests so far. He has been the best bowler for his side particularly in the later days of the game.
Jasprit Bumrah - He has been the most consistent bowler for his side. He has taken wickets at regular intervals and also maintained a decent economy which created pressure on England batsmen that resulted in helping other Indian bowlers to take wickets at the other end.
SQUADS:-
India:- Virat Kohli (Capt), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
England:- Joe Root (Capt), Moen Ali, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence, Sam Billings, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Mark Wood, Craig Overton, Jonny Bairstow, Rory Burns.
PROBABLE PLAYING XIs:-
India:- Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (Wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
England:- Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (Capt), Johnny Bairstow (Wk), Ollie Pope, Moen Ali, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Craig Overton, James Anderson.
SUGGESTED DREAM 11 TEAM:-
Joe Root (Captain)
KL Rahul (Vice Captain)
Rohit Sharma
Dawid Malan
Rishabh Pant (WK)
Ravichandran Ashwin
Chris Woakes
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Shami
Ollie Robinson
James Anderson
WHEN, WHERE & HOW TO WATCH:-
The venue for the fourth test is the Kia Oval Cricket Stadium, London. The match would begin at 3:30 PM (IST). The live streaming would be available on Sony Liv App and it'd be televised on the Sony Sports Network.
