IND vs ENG: Three key player battles to watch out for
From 5th February 2021, India and England will battle it out in a four-match Test series in the Indian subcontinent. Both the sides have some match-winners in their ranks who can change the course of a match in a jiffy. This will also be India’s first Test on home soil since November 2019. A cracker of a series awaits the fans across the cricketing world. In this article, let us look at three battles to look forward to in the series.
3. Stuart Broad vs Cheteshwar Pujara
Stuart Broad is the 7th highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, and the second England bowler to have taken over 500 (517) wickets in the whites. He also has an excellent record against India in Tests and has taken 70 wickets at an average of 25.67. The right-arm pacer was in his elements in the first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka, where he picked up 3 wickets, giving away just 20 runs. Broad will be up against a batsman who will grind his way to glory, a batsman who is solid and difficult to dislodge. Cheteshwar Pujara enters the series on the back of a resolute 56 against Australia at The Gabba.
WICKET: An early wicket is what England craved, and Broad has delivered. Pujara caught behind by Buttler. 56/2. pic.twitter.com/KtyESCN9YT
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 29, 2014
The right-hander has a stunning record in Test cricket and has scored over 6000 Test runs at an average of 47.74. Expect both these superstars to come hard at each other in the Test series.
2. Ravichandran Ashwin vs Joe Root
Ashwin is closing in on 400 wickets in Test cricket. The off-spinner is a behemoth at home in the whites, and his numbers stand testimony to the same. The spin bowling maestro has taken 254 wickets at home at an average of just 22.80, and 21 out of his 27 five-wicket hauls in Tests have come on home soil. He will be up against a man who ripped apart the Sri Lankan bowling attack, scoring over 400 runs in the two-match Test series. Joe Root will be high on confidence after a riveting performance against the islanders, where he bagged the Man of the Series award.
The way the battle plays out between Ashwin and Root will be highly intriguing to witness.
1. James Anderson vs Virat Kohli
This is a blockbuster battle that will have every cricket fan glued. James Anderson is the most successful pacer in Test history, and the only fast bowler to have taken over 600 wickets in Test cricket. And, even at the age of 38, the right-arm pacer continues to trouble the very best willow wielders around the world. He will be up against a batting great, a man who has already scored 7 double centuries in Tests. Virat Kohli will once again lead India’s charge with the bat in the Test series against England.
Kohli vs Anderson (since 2016)
Balls faced:- 382
Runs Scored:- 183
Dismissed:- 0
S/R:- 47.91#ViratKohli #INDvENG #JamesAnderson pic.twitter.com/OZYlVfPamE— Shubz ll (@edgbaston__149) January 31, 2021
When India toured England in 2014, Anderson got the better of Kohli, as the Indian batsman could aggregate just 134 runs in the entire series. Out of the 10 times that Kohli was dismissed in that series, Anderson took his wicket on 4 occasions. Kohli came roaring back 4 years later when India visited England again and plundered 593 runs at an average of 59.30 in 2018. And now, the two icons will clash once more and probably for the last time. And, needless to say, the way this battle plays out will have a massive effect on the way the entire series plays out.
