India vs England 4th Test: Preview, Team News, Possible Playing XI

IND vs ENG 4th Test: The fourth and last Test of England’s tour of India 2021 starts on Thursday with the hosts looking to secure a place in the World Test championship final. The first Test held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad turned out to be one of the shortest in history as India thrashed England in just two days registering a thumping 10 wickets win.

The 10 wickets win helped India take a 2-1 lead in the ongoing 4-match series and ruled England out of the World Test Championship final. The hosts now need a win or a draw to book a clash with New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final while an England win would put Australia into the decider at Lord’s in June.

Meanwhile, the color of the ball will change from pink to red but the surface of the Motera Pitch is expected to be similar to the fourth test. According to a BCCI insider, despite all the hullabaloo over the surface in the third Test, India doesn’t want to take any chance and is set to offer a spinning track yet again.

Also read: India vs England: Sir Vivian Richards slams those who have been “moaning and groaning” about Indian pitches

IND vs ENG Team News:

• India has to make at least one change after pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah opted out of the final Test for “personal reasons”.
• No replacement has been named for Jasprit Burmah
• Looking at the turn in the previous Test, Kuldeep Yadav is expected to take Bumrah’s spot
• England skipper Joe Root has conceded that England made selection mistakes in the previous test
• Dom Bess is expected to join fellow spinner Leach in place of one of the pacers

IND vs ENG Probable PlayingXI

India:

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav

England:

Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wk), Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad/Dom Bess, James Anderson

For more cricket news, click here