It’s a new era. India has a new captain. England have more youngsters than experienced players. The trophy has a new name, too. But old demons will surely follow India as they gear up to face England. Since their revival in Test cricket, when they built an incredible team with all the faces that have now called it quits, one of the few things they weren’t able to leave behind from their era of gloom was defeating England in an away tour. The last time they did so was in 2007, years before they became the invincible force they are known for, in the longest format.
But there isn’t only despair for the Indian camp this time. They are up against an English side that itself needs to figure out plenty of things. Similar, if not more, to how the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin are expected to affect the Indian side, England have been bearing the brunt of the departure of their long-standing fast bowling duo, Stuart Broad and James Anderson. Despite knowing you don’t come across such a prolific pair every day, it’s been nearly a year since their retirements, and the side hasn’t recovered, especially in the pace bowling department.
So both teams have a little part of something missing. Just how crucial the absent part would be, might define whether India will have history packing.
Team Overview:
England announced their squad two days before the game. Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, and Olly Stone are all out injured, and while the latter two might make an appearance in the series, subject to the progress of their recovery, Wood is expected to stay out for a while. With this being the state of fast bowling in England, the hosts will have to rely on Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes for new-ball duties.
Woakes is a genius on English soil, but Carse has yet to play a home Test game. He was incredible against New Zealand and Pakistan in winter late last year, taking 27 wickets across five games. Three-Test games old Josh Tongue is their third bowling option. He took five wickets against Australia at Lord’s during the 2023 Ashes and was the joint-highest wicket-taker for England in a lineup that still had Broad and Anderson.
They have decided not to push Ollie Pope down the order to make space for Jacob Bethell at the first drop. This also means Jamie Smith gets the gloves. The rest lineup remains pretty much expected.
India do not like jumping on this bandwagon of announcing their XI before the game day, but they did drop some crucial insights as to what the lineup could look like. Jasprit Bumrah isn’t a certain starter for the entire series, but India would want him to spearhead the attack in the opening game. The new captain, Shubman Gill, will come in at No. 4, where Virat Kohli batted for a long time. This means India would need to slot in someone for the No. 3 role, and they have plenty of options to choose from. They have Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, B Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. They did punt on Reddy against Australia, and it paid off quite well. He scored a much-needed century at the MCG.
Head-to-Head Matches:
India and England have played a staggering 136 matches between them. Of these, 50 games ended in a draw. The remaining 51 games were won by England, and 35 by India.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Usual Leeds’ rain won’t welcome both teams. The region has been experiencing a dry spell, much to batters’ glee. All important decisions for the game typically depend upon what colour the sky is wearing, but, like plenty of other things, the conditions are almost a first. Nevertheless, the teams would like to stick with how it’s done at Headingley normally. Teams tend to bowl first here to extract the early benefit, and the surface gets easier to bat on as the game progresses. Headingley is also one of the more spin-friendly grounds in the country, with dry conditions, and their average of 30.24 could lower further.
Prediction:
India suffered an innings defeat, the last time they played at Headingley. With a relatively new side, sent to the wolves on their first tour, things could get tricky for them.
Weather and Pitch Report:
India: Sont Sports, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports and Sky Go/Now
Pakistan: Tapmad
South Africa: SuperSport Cricket, SuperSport Grandstand, DSTV app
US and Canada: Willow TV
