Owais Shah, the former England cricketer, has said that India will win the series 2-1 but England could give a tough fight to Virat Kohli's team.
The Indian cricket team is on the ultimate high after beating Australia for the third consecutive time to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. At home, they have lost only one series in the last 16 years and that was to England in 2012. The Indian cricket team is on the ultimate high and in the last encounter between the two sides at home five years ago, India comprehensively outplayed England 4-0 to take revenge for their earlier loss in 2012. However, heading into the series, even England are on a high after they defeated Sri Lanka for the sixth consecutive time in their own den. But, according to former England cricketer Owais Shah, he believes India vs England series could be decided by the tussle that England's two premier fast bowlers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad have with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Speaking from Dubai in an exclusive interview with Zee News English, Owais Shah said, "With the ball (James) Anderson and (Stuart) Broad's form will be crucial and how they match up to the likes of (Virat) Kohli, Rohit Sharma and the new kid Shubman Gill will be interesting."
Joe Root has been in outstanding form in Sri Lanka, scoring a double century and century in the two Tests while Ben Stokes is returning for the series after missing the Pakistan series as well as the Sri Lanka series due to the death of his father and bio-bubble fatigue. Owais Shah believes both Root and Stokes hold the key in countering Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin, two of the best bowlers in a line-up that already has a lot of match-winners.
"Root has been in outstanding form for England and along with Ben Stokes, he is going to be one of the two batsmen who hold the key to England's success in this series. I would have added Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow to the list as well but they are not taking part in the entire series. When it comes to top match-ups, I would say it has to be Root vs Ashwin or Bumrah against Root and Stokes," Owais Shah said.
Reason for so many injuries
The Indian cricket team suffered plenty of injuries in their tour of Australia. With each passing Test, bowlers suffered injuries, and heading into the final Test in Brisbane, the combined strength of the side was just seven Tests. Owais Shah gave the reason for so many injuries that arose due to the complications of the bio-bubble.
"India is probably one of the fewer countries to have suffered so many injuries on a cricket tour. It is a fact that when you are largely stuck in a room, one tends to become inactive by mostly sitting or lying down. This inactiveness can lead to injuries as well. To deal with this, I know a lot of cricketers are training in their rooms to keep fit," Owais Shah said.
When asked about the series prediction, Owais Shah said, "I believe India should lay out good batting surfaces rather than rank turners. So my prediction for series results in the four-match series would be 2-1 to India." The first Test begins on February 5 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk.
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