England v
India Third Test Totesport Analysis and Betting
England and
India resume hostilities on Wednesday in the third Test
at Edgbaston. Andrew Strauss’s side have all the
momentum after their crushing victory at Trent Bridge and
they will be looking to complete the job over the next
five days (England 6/5, India 7/2, draw 11/8 Match
Betting).
India have
been ranked as the number one Test team for some time but
their reign at the top of the standings might be about to
come to an end.
Victory for
England will see them take the series 3-0 and, in doing
so, rise to the top of the Test world rankings for the
first time.
MS
Dhoni’s side were expected to provide England with a
stiff test this summer but, a few sessions aside, it has
been one-way traffic, with England’s batsmen
feasting on some less-than-hostile bowling and the seam
attack taking wickets at will.
And there
seems no reason why the status quo will be changed in
Birmingham, with the tourists decimated by injury as
Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh have all
been ruled out of the rest of the tour.
RP Singh has
been called up and may play but his Test record of 40
wickets at an average of 39 will not exactly strike fear
into the England line up.
He has not
played a five-day game for more than three years and his
inclusion shows the turmoil that the Asian giants are in.
While the
Indian bowlers have been below par, the batting line up,
with the exception of Rahul Dravid, has been woeful.
It seems
incredible that in four innings they have yet to pass 300
runs, with Sachin Tendulkar fighting a lone battle on the
final day in Nottingham.
Tendulkar is
on his farewell tour of England and surely he will score
a century at some stage of the series – but will it
be in Birmingham?
Dravid had
to fail at some stage and, after his dismissal in the
second Test the writing was on the wall and it is high
time that the likes of VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina and the
returning Gautam Gambhir notched a three-figure score.
Virender
Sehwag’s inclusion will undoubtedly strengthen the
side but he has been out of action for a long time and
doubts remain over how fit he actually is.
England will
definitely make one change as Jonathan Trott’s
shoulder injury has ruled him out and the selectors have
gone back to Ravi Bopara.
The Essex
man can consider himself lucky as he has hardly set the
world alight in domestic cricket this summer and there
were calls for Leicestershire youngster James Taylor to
be given a run-out.
It is
understandable that Geoff Miller would go for the
experience of Bopara as he is supremely talented, but it
is runs in the book that count and question marks remain
over his ability at the top level.
The
26-year-old can bowl some medium pace and it was
apparently this aspect of his game that helped sway the
selectors.
But they may
have missed a trick as it would have been the perfect
time to blood youngster with the rest of the batsmen all
seemingly at the top of their games.
Only time
will tell who was right.
The other
selection quandary involves Chris Tremlett and Tim
Bresnan.
Tremlett is
said to be nearing full fitness and was the man in
possession before his injury but how can you drop a man
who nearly scored a century and took a five-wicket haul
in his last Test?
The smart
money is on Bresnan keeping his place for at least one
more Test to make sure Tremlett?s injury is 100 per cent
healed.
Andrew
Strauss needs some runs but Edgbaston has never been a
happy hunting ground for the skipper with a top Test
score of just 69 at the second city venue (Strauss 12/1
Top Eng Series Batsman).
His place is
not in jeopardy at the moment but, if he has ambitions to
captain the side against Australia in 2013, then he needs
to find his form sooner rather than later with Alastair
Cook waiting in the wings.
England
deserve to be where they are – just one victory away
from the top of the world rankings – as they have
risen slowly up the standings with some inspired and
gutsy cricket around the globe.
They are
playing with tremendous team spirit, thanks to the
Strauss-Andy Flower partnership, and all that remains now
is to wrap up the series over the next few days and sit
back and enjoy the moment – you never know how long
it will last.
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