India gear up for England pace test
Onus on skipper Kohli to help visitors reverse the failures during the 2011 and 2014 tours
and 2007.
But the big number Indian fans hope will improve is 13.4 -- the average Kohli collected in 2014. He bounced back with four centuries on the 2014-15 Australia tour that followed and hasn’t looked back since. However, he has the additional challenge as skipper this time.
England still have swing master James Anderson, who turned 36 on Monday, to look up to and his partnership with Stuart Broad will test the Indian batsmen. Opener Murali Vijay’s patience to weather the new ball threat and the confidence he draws from his success on the previous tour will be vital though India may opt for in-form KL Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan to boost the top-order.
Kohli has repeatedly said 2014 won’t play on his mind, but he will be the target for England pacers, boosted after rain at the weekend freshened up the pitch. India have lost five of six matches at Edgbaston and England picking a lone spinner in Adil Rashid indicates a more seam-friendly pitch.
Kohli was in good touch on a pitch with early life when he hit 68 in the practice game against Essex, but he can still take a leaf out of idol Sachin Tendulkar’s book.
The 29-year-old’s tendency to reach out to deliveries outside offstump early on is cited as a weakness. At the nets on Monday, he was drawn a few times into deliveries that shaped away.
But he only needs to look at Tendulkar’s famous 241 not out at Sydney in 2003-4 after he cut out the cover drive. His coming on top of the bowling will be half the battle won for India.
England will hope Alastair Cook’s experience and skipper Joe Root’s class will help hold together the unsettled batting unit. Root has struggled to convert Test fifties into centuries of late, but showed with back-toback centuries in the ODI series win that he may be ready to change that record.
ATTACKING WITH ADIL
England picked leg-spinner Adil Rashid as the lone spinner, an indication that the pitch would help seamers, especially after rain at the weekend. All-rounder Sam Curran also comes in while off-spinner Moeen Ali and uncapped seamer Jamie Porter will sit out.
“We looked at the surface and decided we want to go with only one spinner and that will be Adil.
Sam is going to play