ENG vs IND third Test Preview | Jasprit Bumrah returns as India look to go ahead in five-match series at Lord’s

‌India’s mammoth win in the last match, along with Jasprit Bumrah’s return, will give them a slight edge when they face off against England at Lord’s in London from Thursday, July 10. The visitors had squared the five-match series 1-1 with a huge 336-run win at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Bumrah was rested for India in the last Test with his workload being managed after returning from injury, and his return will further bolster the Indian pace attack. The pacers picked up 18 of the 20 wickets in the second Test with Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj being impressive with the new ball in both innings, picking up match hauls of 10/187 and 7/127, respectively.

Indian skipper Shubman Gill, on the back of his stupendous double-hundred and century in both innings in Birmingham, leads the overall run charts in the series. He has amassed 585 runs at an astonishing average of 146.25 with three centuries in four innings. Gill’s deputy, Rishabh Pant has also come good for the side with a tally of 342 runs at an average of 85.50. The southpaw, who scored two hundreds and a fifty, is third on the list of highest run-getters this series.

For England, wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith tops the batting charts, second overall, with 356 runs at an unbelievable average of 178.00. He is followed by the home side’s white-ball captain Harry Brook, who has scored 280 runs from two matches.

It has been hard work for the bowlers with flat decks producing high-scoring encounters in the last two games. England pacer Josh Tongue is on top of the list of highest wicket-takers this series with 11 wickets from two games. Akash, who replaced Bumrah in the last game, is on second with 10 wickets, averaging 18.70 and striking at a frequency of 24.70, while Mohammed Siraj follows with nine scalps.

England are also looking to manage the workload of their quicker bowlers as they have added Gus Atkinson to their squad for the third Test with Jofra Archer also in the fray in London.

Form Guide

ENG Form: WLWWL

IND Form: DLLLW

ENG vs IND head-to-head in Tests

England clearly have an edge over India in Test matches, scoring 52 wins in 138 matches while India have won 36 with 50 games ending in draws. However, India boasts a better record in the last 10 matches with six wins compared to England’s four.

At Lord’s, the result gets skewed in England’s favour with the home side winning 12 of the 19 games and India having only three wins at the hallowed venue.

ENG 52 - 36 IND

Pitch and Conditions

With much scrutiny over the flat batting tracks in the first two Tests, the Lord’s surface is expected to be more lively, with an even contest between bat and ball. Three of the last five matches at the famed venue, which has traditionally supported the quicks with batters tending to get hurried with the slope, have been won by teams bowling first. The home side have a good record at this venue in the recent past, winning three of their last five matches.

It will be warm and sunny for major parts of the second Test at Lord’s in London, with temperatures expected to be around the 30-degree mark. Though cloudy spells are expected throughout the game, there is no forecast for rain.

Team News

With Shubman Gill confirming that Bumrah will be part of the side at Lord’s, the pacer is expected to take Prasidh Krishna’s place in the eleven with Akash Deep set to continue in all probabilities after his splendid show. England will also bolster its pace attack after the same trio of Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue played in both Tests. Jofra Archer and the returning Gus Atkinson are expected to accompany Chris Woakes in London on Thursday.

ENG Expected XI

Ben Stokes (c), Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir

IND Expected XI

Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep

Broadcasting Platforms 

The ENG vs IND third Test match will be digitally streamed on the Jio Hotstar app and website in India, with the telecast of the same on the Sony Sports Network from 3:30 PM IST on Thursday.