Here's everything you need to know heading into the opening day of the third Test between India and England at Trent Bridge.
It's now or never for the Indian cricket team. Virat Kohli and his men face England in the third Test starting at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Saturday. Down two-nil in the five-match series, the visitors can settle for nothing less than a win in the remaining games to bag the series.
Team India have a lot to prove going forward. They may have cemented their position at the top of the ICC Test Rankings, but a series loss in South Africa earlier this year and another defeat in England will reaffirm the popular sentiment that they're only any good at home.
Captain Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri are expected to make holistic changes for the third Test. Not just the personnel, but the team's attitude needs to improve if India are to turn things around.
There's a lot to look forward to on Day 1 of the third Test between India and England.
Here are five points:
1. Weather, Pitch, Toss
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Irrespective of their shambolic performance on the field, India did receive the short end of the stick in terms of the weather in the second Test. The conditions were overcast both times India batted, with bright sunshine as England piled on the runs. The visitors would hope the clouds stay away in Nottingham, with James Anderson and Co receiving no assistance from the weather gods.
The pitch, too, offered little help to the Indians in the second Test. It's another matter that the visitors shouldn't have fielded two spinners in the first place, but there's no doubt that the 22 yards at Lord's were much in favour of the hosts. India will be hoping for a dry wicket at Trent Bridge, with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin getting a chance to control the game.
Finally, it's been two tosses and two losses for Kohli so far. Had he got more luck with the coin at Lord's, the match would surely have not ended inside two days. There shouldn't be any excuses in defeat, but one can't deny the importance of the toss in Test cricket. India desperately need the rub of the green to go their way when the two captains walk out to the middle on Saturday.
2. Kohli's fitness
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Virat Kohli has to score runs if India are to win. Period. There's no way around it. The skipper, barring R Ashwin, has looked like the only one capable of scoring runs in the series so far. With Kohli half fit, the Indian team will enter the contest severely handicapped. He said at the end of the previous game that he expected to be fit enough to bat freely when the third Test came around. Over the past few days during India's practice sessions, the 29-year-old was spotted doing extensive work to strengthen his back. India will be able to deal with Kohli not going full throttle while fielding, but a compromise while batting, like the one he was forced to make during the second innings at Lord's, will most-likely spell doom for the visitors.
3. Changes by Team India
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One can expect changes to pretty much every department of India's playing XI. Starting from the openers, to the middle-order, the wicket-keeper, the spinners, and finally the pacers, there could be tweaks all around. Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have made a mockery of the all-important opening positions. Although Shikhar Dhawan didn't do enough in the first Test in Birmingham, the aggressive left-hander could find a way back into the team. India's middle-order, too, has failed to show up in the series so far. Cheteshwar Pujara did spend some time at the crease in the second Test, but the right-hander didn't do enough to cement his spot. Ajinkya Rahane has been woefully out of form as well. The vice-captain seems a shadow of the batsman he was when India toured England four years ago. His barren spell with the bat is hurting the team badly. It'll be interesting to see what India do to solve the middle muddle. Dinesh Karthik is expected to make way for 20-year-old Rishabh Pant. DK has nothing to show with the bat after the first two Tests, it'll be a brave call on Kohli's part to deny Pant a Test debut on Saturday. India's bowling has done relatively well in the series. But Kuldeep Yadav's terrible performance at Lord's, along with Jasprit Bumrah's availability, could lead to the English batsmen facing a new-look attack.
4. Will Indian batsmen stand up?
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For all the hype around their batting before the commencement of the series, India have scored 673 runs and lost 40 wickets so far. That's less than 17 runs per wicket. And this includes the extremely lucky 149 that Virat Kohli scored at Edgbaston. You can't expect to travel to England and win a Test series with such numbers. India's bowling has impressed for the better part, it's their batting that's looked clueless. Kohli's boys have to figure out a way to deal with James Anderson and Co's swing and guile. If they fail to do so, it'll merely be a formality for England to complete a series sweep.
5. Will the hosts relent?
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It was said that this was India's best chance in a long time to claim a Test series victory in England. The hosts had hit a downward slope in the longest format of the game, and the number one side in the world was expected to extract revenge for the horrors they faced on the last two tours. It's been far from that, though. Quite far. The likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have continued to torment the Indian batsmen, with youngsters like Sam Curran joining the party too. They went astray since Australia completed a 4-0 Ashes triumph against them at the start of 2018, but England have put themselves in a great position to seal an important series win. They'll need to keep the foot on the pedal on the opening day at Trent Bridge.
(ALL IMAGES: AFP)
