Preview: India vs England – 4th Test

First Published : 12 Dec 2012, 13:55
Last Modified : 12 Dec 2012, 17:47

By: Shirin Sadikot in Nagpur

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What

Fourth and the last Test of the series between India and England

When

Dec 13 to Dec 17, 2012

Where

Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur, is a newly built cricket arena with world-class amenities. The venue made its international debut when it hosted a Test during the 2008-09 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The Teams

The series has treaded a totally unexpected path since India’s easy win in the first Test. The hosts were thoroughly outplayed in all the departments of the game by the highly professional, improved and patient England side, in Mumbai and Kolkata. Their back-to-back Test defeats at home, for the first time since 2000, mean India cannot win the series. However, in a bid to salvage pride and draw the series, the national selectors have made some bold decisions for the Nagpur Test. Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh have been left out in favour of some young blood. Parvinder Awana, a tall and strapping fast bowler from Delhi, has been rewarded his first Test call-up and so has Ravindra Jadeja for scoring two triple centuries in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has also been included in the squad to add variety to the spin department.

England have hardly put a foot wrong since their first-innings collapse in Ahmedabad. Like their best batsman of the tour and captain, Alastair Cook has insisted time and again, all they need is to continue doing the same things that have worked for them in the last two Tests. With an invincible 2-1 lead, all England need at Nagpur is a draw. But with the kind of rhythm and confidence on which they are riding, England will go into the Test with nothing less than a victory on their mind.

Key Players

The Indian batsmen have to take the bulk of the blame for the twin losses with their failure of putting up a decent enough total for the bowlers to play with. As MS Dhoni mentioned in the press conference after the defeat at the Eden Gardens, at least four or five of the top seven batsmen need to contribute with a substantial score. With the team in dire straits, it’s high time that the trio of Virender Sewhag, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar shrug off their indifferent form and pave the way for a revival. The key word that the Indian batsmen need to remember every second they spend in the middle is ‘patience’.

In the last two Tests, England have looked like a well-oiled unit revolving around their leader, Alastair Cook. Majority of their players have stood up at some point in time or another to make a telling contribution to the team’s cause. If the Monty Panesar-Graeme Swann duo spun a web around India in Mumbai, it was the pace battery of James Anderson and Steven Finn who did the job in Kolkata. And while Cook has been omnipresent, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Nick Compton have all showed form.

Trivia

Only two teams have beaten India in three consecutive Tests of a series in India – West Indies in 1958-59 and England in 1976-77.

Since the 2011 World Cup, the highest average contribution from a partnership for India has not come from any of the top five wickets. It has come from the seventh wicket (39.96)!

Venue Stats

1. Average first innings score at Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium:  397

2. Average second innings score at VCA Stadium: 385

3. Result summary at VCA Stadium:                               

4. Head-to-head:

5. Last meeting between both sides at VCA Stadium:

Brief scores:

These two teams are meeting for the first time at this ground

6. Form guide (most recent listed first):

India: Lost, Lost, Won, Won, Won (3 wins, 2 losses)

England: Won, Won, Lost, Lost, Drawn (2 wins, 2 losses)

7. Venue stats

The Squads

India: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar,  Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashoke Dinda, Parvinder Awana, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Murali Vijay

England: Alastair Cook (capt), Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonathan Bairstow, Nick Compton, Matt Prior (wk), Joe Root, Samit Patel, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, Stuart Meaker, Graham Onions, Graeme Swann, Monty Panesar, Eoin Morgan, Tim Bresnan