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Will India make any changes for the fourth Test vs England in Manchester
India lost the Lord’s Test match by 22 runs and now are trailing 1-2 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with two games left to be played. The fourth Test is scheduled to take place at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, starting July 23. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant have led the way with the bat. They are India’s top two scorers in the series. Gill couldn’t make an impact in the last Test but that isn't too much to worry about. He would look to come good in the next Test.
KL Rahul now has over 350 runs to his name, including two centuries. He has to keep scoring if India ought to win the series from here but need support from his partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, at the other end. There is no doubt about his class. He has proved it time and again but his eagerness to take on the best bowlers sometimes proves costly. Getting out on a bouncer to Archer in the last Test in the fourth innings was one such occasion. He needs to show a bit more patience and apply himself before taking on the aggressive route. India lost four wickets for 58 runs while chasing a 193-run target at Lord’s.
Getting good starts with the new ball is vital as things get messy if you lose a wicket early in England. Nevertheless, both KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to open but India would be pondering on the number three position. Karun Nair scored 40 and 14 in the last Test match. He has been batting well but somehow getting out. He is not able to convert the starts into big scores, which is hurting the team.
Given that it’s his last opportunity to revive his Test career, the think tank would be looking to back him and play in the fourth Test match if not fifth. Following the third Test loss, Shubman Gill confirmed that Pant's injury isn’t too serious and he will play the fourth Test match. That has come as great news as his absence can have a massive impact on the result.
Washington Sundar has done nothing wrong to be dropped. There could be a temptation to bring Kuldeep Yadav in but Washington Sundar has been brilliant with both bat and ball. They should stick with playing two spin bowling all-rounders in Jadeja and Sundar. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to play one out of the two Tests left in the series.
But another loss would lead to a series loss. Thus, the Manchester Test becomes a must-win game for India and they should play Bumrah in that Test. Also, there is a nine-day gap before the fourth Test starts and that should be enough for him to recover. Akash Deep picked 10 wickets in the 2nd Test but only managed to pick a single wicket at Lord’s.
With Arshdeep waiting for a chance, India could opt to hand him a Test debut but chances are slim.
Here’s a look at India’s predicted playing XI for the third Test vs England:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep/ Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah