India vs England, Chennai Test: Plenty at stake for Joe Root and Virat Kohli

After over a year and a half, India will finally have some cricket on its shores. England will be the first team to play in the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The first Test will be behind closed doors but crowds might be in attendance for the second Test. This is a very important series for both India and England as well as for Virat Kohli and Joe Root, the two greats in the quartet of the Fab four. There is the lure of the ICC World Test Championship final spot, while it is a story of redemption for both Joe Root and Virat Kohli in contrasting ways. 

First, the ICC World Test Championship final. India will have to win by a margin of 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1, 4-0 to book the final spot where they will take on New Zealand at Lord's in June 2021. For England, they will have to repeat a feat that has not been achieved in India for the last 38 years. They have to win 3-0, 3-1 or 4-0, in order to qualify for the final at Lord's and this scoreline, has not been achieved by any visiting team barring the West Indies in 1983. England may have won six consecutive Tests in Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka is no India. England has not won in Chepauk in the last 36 years and apart from their win in 2012, their record is dismal.

Root, who was part of that historic win in 2012, is now going to play his 100th Test. On the other hand, Virat Kohli returns to the side and is set to take back his captaincy after Ajinkya Rahane did a fantastic job in the series in Australia. Virat Kohli was criticised in some quarters for taking the paternity leave, but Ajinkya Rahane has put all criticism to rest by stating before the match that this was Virat Kohli's team and that he had to take care of it. Virat Kohli takes charge of the Indian cricket team that is brimming with depth and talent in all departments. It is the same problem of plenty that had Indian cricket buzzing in that dominant summer of 2016 and 2017.

Team Playing 11s

The series win in Australia is being touted as an inspiration by England skipper Joe Root during the pre-match press conference. England head into the Test match on the back of Zak Crawley suffering a freak accident and Ollie Pope has been included in the team. Joe Root said that all three spinners, Jack Leach, Dom Bess and Moeen Ali are available for selection. With no Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler will keep wickets and with the addition of Ben Stokes, the batting has depth. 

India, on the other hand, might be tempted to play three spinners. But, with Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah coming back and Mohammed Siraj playing a stellar role, India might be tempted to play three pacers and two spinners in Chepauk. Mohammed Siraj's reverse swing abilities might be effective while there could be a toss-up between Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav for the second and possibly third spinner slot. 

Playing 11s

India: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli,  Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma 

England: Zak Crawley/Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Foakes, Joe Root(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Dominic Bess, Jack Leach, Mark Wood/Jofra Archer, James Anderson

Match details

Match: India vs England, 1st Test

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Time: 9:30 AM IST

Statistics

England has not won a Test in Chennai since 1985. In that period, they have lost three Tests, including two by an innings. India, on the other hand, last lost a Test in Chennai in 1999 when they were defeated by 12 runs against Pakistan.