England vs India: India’s predicted playing XI for the fifth Test

There’s no stopping Team India on their ongoing tour of England as they are on a rampage. Virat Kohli and Co have already taken an unassailable 2-1 in the five-match series after their 157-run win over the Three Lions at the Kennington Oval in London.

It was a significant win for the visiting team as they went into the game on the back of a hefty defeat in the Leeds Test by an innings and 76 runs. The fifth Test is scheduled to start on Friday, September 10 at the Old Trafford in Manchester.

Even if India manage to draw the Test, they will clinch the series. Although they won the fourth Test, the visitors may think of making a change or two in their eleven if not more. Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma missed the previous Test at Headingley and it remains to be seen if they make a comeback.

Here is India’s predicted XI for the fifth Test match against England:

Openers: Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul should continue as the openers for Team India in the upcoming game. In the first three Tests, Rohit got starts as he occupied the crease and absorbed the pressure. But that he was not able to get the big scores raised a lot of questions.

However, the Nagpur-born veteran didn’t let the chance slip in the fourth Test as he notched his maiden ton in overseas Test matches. The opener was adjudged the Player of the Match for his match-winning show. Rohit is currently India’s leading run-scorer in the series and the second-highest overall after Joe Root.

Rahul, on the other hand, started with scores of 84 and 129 in Nottingham and Lord’s respectively. But since then, he’s blown a tad hot and cold. If both Rohit and Rahul fire, the Three Lions could end up chasing leather.

Middle-order and wicketkeeper: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant

Cheteshwar Pujara was under fire before the series and the situation only worsened for him after the first two Tests. However, instead of getting bogged down, India’s No.3 has responded with two half-centuries. In the Leeds Test, he was unlucky to have not gotten a ton after he got out for 91.

Virat Kohli has scored runs in patches, but the 32-year-old has looked far from his very best. In the meantime, there’s massive question marks over Ajinkya Rahane’s form. The Indian Test vice-captain has scored a fifty, but apart from that he’s looked lacklustre, to say the least.

He has scored runs at an average of 15.57. Rishabh Pant has tried to throw the kitchen sink at everything, but he hasn’t tasted much success. The southpaw will be looking to end his journey with substantial knocks.

All-rounders: Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja

Shardul Thakur has been a revelation for India ever since he played the match-winning hand against Australia at The Gabba in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy. Thakur hasn’t played all four Tests in the series, but he has grabbed the limited opportunities with both hands.

After the Nottingham Test, he had to warm the bench at the Lord’s and Leeds. However, he put forth his A-game at The Oval. In the fourth Test, he got scores of 57 and 60, and also picked up three wickets, including that of Root.

After the game, Rohit even went on to say that Shardul deserved the Player of the Match award. Ravindra Jadeja has constantly been preferred over Ravi Ashwin. However, he hasn’t had the best of series, having scored 160 runs and picking up six wickets. But he is expected to make the eleven.

Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah

Mohammed Shami missed out from the fourth Test due to a niggle along with Ishant Sharma. Even as there are doubts on Ishant’s comeback, Shami’s return to the playing eleven can’t be ruled out by any stretch of the imagination. In the first three Tests, Shami picked up 11 wickets at an average of 27.54.

The Bengal fast bowler is most likely to replace one of Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav. Siraj has 14 wickets to his name from four matches with the best figures of 4/95. Umesh played the previous Test and picked up six wickets, one of which was that of Root.

Jasprit Bumrah has arguably been India’s standout bowler in the series. The young speedster has picked up 18 wickets with one five-wicket haul. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in the series after Ollie Robinson.