England vs India, 1st Test Preview: A new beginning or the same old story?

This is a historic Test, England's 1000th and they will want to make it memorable - no better way than to launch the series with a win.

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Virat Kohli & Joe Root
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England captain Joe Root and India captain Virat Kohli hold the series trophy. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

When India take the field in Birmingham there will be pressure. The pressure of expectations, that of past performances, that of their specific record at this venue and all of that combined will be on Virat Kohli. He is the captain, the aggressive leader who walks out on the field aiming to win every time. England is a different challenge and as Kohli, himself pointed out it is more about the mindset than anything else.

England have the big three – Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Stuart Broad but two of them are returning from injuries have played just one county game. Ahead of them is a five-Test challenge that will unfold in a matter of six weeks. Apart from the trio their team is termed thin, England don’t start off well and have their own issues – India, on the other hand, have a whole bunch of players who are returning for a tour after 2014 and most of them have been in the country for over a month.

The curators have spent a lot of time and watered the pitch down just to make sure this extended heatwave doesn’t kill their ‘home advantage’. If the sun beats down hard, it will definitely assist the slower bowlers during the course but primarily generate movement for the seamers who’ve traditionally dominated the proceedings here.

This is a historic Test, England’s 1000th and they will want to make it memorable – no better way than to launch the series with a win.

Toss: England won the toss and elected to bat first

England (Playing XI): Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root(c), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow(w), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

India (Playing XI): Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma

Team Combination

England

They choose to bring Adil Rashid into the squad and are going with him ahead of Moeen Ali. Rashid is in red-hot form, troubled the Indians and will be key as the pitch is expected to get dry. The leg-spinner was the most talked about player since the selectors named him in the squad. With so much criticism and talks surrounding his selection one would expect him to get worked up but as Joe Root said on the eve of the game he is going about normal business and just wants to continue bowling well.

Keaton Jennings will partner the veteran Cook at the top of the order. Root follows them, his exploits in the ODI series will definitely have amped up his confidence and that should also display with the way he commands his troops. The third pacer accompanying Anderson and Broad is Sam Curran who has a knack of picking wickets and as a left-arm seamer brings variety into the attack.

India

The conundrum for India starts at the top – Shikhar Dhawan or KL Rahul. While Dhawan has been their go-to man in the subcontinent Rahul’s form and his half century and an unbeaten 36 in the warm-up game against Essex will make it that much more difficult for the management to keep him out. But either of them will not be the man in focus; it is Murali Vijay, the Monk in this team full of buzzing characters. How he deals with the new ball will to a large extent determine the fate of those who follow him out.

In the bowling attack if India play only one spinner it has to be Ravichandran Ashwin. Not only is he the best they’ve got but he is also a reliable man with the bat preferably at No.7. If they decide to stick to the two spinners – two seamers and Hardik Pandya strategy then the other man might as well be Kuldeep Yadav. Though Ravindra Jadeja deserves a go ahead but considering the temptation of fielding the chinaman who adds mystery to their attack might just trigger Virat to fall for it.

Otherwise, the three seamers will be Ishant, Umesh and Shami. While the first two have been in a decent rhythm Shami hasn’t played a lot of cricket of late and went wicket-less against Essex where Umesh picked four and Ishant got three.

Players to watch out for

Adil Rashid (England)

The leg-spinner without a doubt will understand that a lot is at stake, the team management has persisted with him given the right-hander laden Indian batting line-up and a different determinant on its own that Kohli struggled against him. Rashid will have his chances against the Indians who might let their guard off having dealt with the fired up the first line of attack. His face-off with the Indian skipper will be an interesting battle if only he survives the Anderson challenge.

Virat Kohli (India)

If the team has to win their first ever Test match at Edgbaston and start the series on a high, it is supremely important that this man gets the runs. Virat insisted that his preparation for the tour was more in the head than anything else. He hasn’t talked loud, didn’t indulge in the verbal challenges thus and should be that much more determined to erase off 2014 once and for all.

The moment he walks out no matter what the situation is Root will bring in Anderson. The 29-year-old who is just one stop away from establishing his global supremacy will face the 36-year-old who is not at his prime but still has the killer instinct and will meet Kohli in the zone of uncertainty. 

Head to Head

Matches – 117 | England Won – 43; India Won – 25 | Draw – 49

Broadcast details

TV – Sony SIX, Sony SIX HD, Sony TEN 3

Live streaming– Sony LIV

Match Timings – 3:30 PM IST

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