WITH Lord's in sight
Virat Kohli and his boys are ready to cook England's goose, while the visitors look to spoil the party
Team India has been ruthless against opponents both in Australia and in India. And with the stage set for the showdown in the longest version of the game, the fourth test against England, things look bright for the home team
Kolhi and his boys have the foot on the accelerator and are ready to take Joe Root and Company for another spin ride, in the high-stakes Test series finale starting Thursday, aiming to not just complete another dominant home performance but also realise their World Test Championship dreams.
Root downplays illness
England skipper Joe Root on Wednesday revealed that an illness hit the touring party earlier this week but all members of the squad trained ahead of the fourth Test against India here and are available for selection.The English captain did not specify the nature of the illness but said he has a full squad to choose from."... the guys are fit and available for the game tomorrow. That gives us a little more time to name the squad," Root said in the pre-match press conference. "So, ever yone in that way is as prepared how they would have liked it for the Test match," he added.
Virat Kohli's men need at least a draw to maintain the current 2-1 scoreline to qualify for the Lord's final against New Zealand while England at best can heal Tim Paine's January scars by letting Australia a lucky passage to the summit clash with a win.
While a draw always seems a safe option in a game like this but Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri, with their attacking instincts, wouldn't like to play a defensive game which at times can be counter-productive.
This is a Test match where England have little to gain save salvaging a bit of pride in a drawn series while India have everything to lose.
Despite being India's most prolific Test captain in terms of numbers, Kohli would be the first one to admit that he hasn't had the kind of success his illustrious predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni had with regards the ICC events.
For England, poor team selection has also contributed to their shoddy batting where Joe Root (333 runs), with his first Test double hundred, managed to maintain a fair gap (187 runs) between him and the secondhighest scorer Ben Stokes (146).
Not having a second specialist spinner in Motera, didn't exactly make the team management look too smart, especially after Joe Root scalped a career-best 5 for 8.
Jack Leach (16 wickets) has done his bit but he does have his own set of limitations and with his pace, which is on an average 10km less than Patel, he is unlikely to always trouble the batsman.
But he would again play a significant role on a similar sort of track and may expect Dom Bess for company. Bess was impressive in the opening Test in Chennai but since then, has cooled his heels.