The five-test series where the hosts England and visitors from India will lock horns will start from tomorrow, 4th August 2021. England and India will look to get back in their winning ways after both the teams lost to New Zealand recently. England lost the Test series after 21 years at home, and India lost to the Kiwis in the World Test Championship finals, played at Lords in June 2021.
Both the teams have the trouble of missing some good players in the team. India will be without their stars who helped them win two back-to-back series wins in Australia, and England will be without their star all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has been their highest run-scorer in the traditional format for a few years.
India – IND
India will look to improve their record in England. Their record in Australia has improved because they have won two back-to-back series Down Under. But that’s not the case when Kohli and Co tour England. In 2007, India had won the Test series in England under the leadership of Rahul Dravid. However, in England’s last 14 test matches, the visitors have won just two of them. So now India will look to make a men’s mark, especially in their batting which hasn’t been fragile, and many questions have been raised about India’s technique and temperament.
Virat Kohli is the one player to watch out for in this series. After a poor 2014 tour, the Indian skipper had an excellent tour in 2018, where he salvaged the pride for India single-handedly. The whole of India would want the King to step up the same way as he did on the last tour of England. This is the perfect time for Kohli to end his century drought as well. Virat hasn’t scored a hundred since the day-night test match against Bangladesh in 2019 in Kolkata.
But Kohli will also need support from other batters to help India make a mark in this series. India will look to get an early lead in this series at the venue where they won in the 2018 test series. On India’s tour of England in 2018, India won the only Test match in Trent Bridge after losing two opening matches. So India can draw some inspiration from that win.
India will have to pounder the opening batsmen issue before the start of the series. Shubman Gill is ruled out of the series, while Mayank Agarwal is out of the first Test. Prithvi Shaw or Suryakumar Yadav will also be included in the playing XI because they need to go through a mandatory quarantine period after arriving in England. Now the obvious choice is KL Rahul. The form of Rahul hasn’t been great, and he has played Test cricket for two to three years. But he smashed a hundred in the warm-up match, which will do his confidence a world of good.
In this series, all eyes will be on Pant, who had a good 2021 so far. Pant should replicate what he did in Australia, which might help India end the series drought in England. Ajinkya Rahane is another player who the fans will watch. The test specialist had a good WTC tournament, and he was the highest run-scorer for India in that event. But India’s Test vice-captain needs to step up to make a strong case for India.
With no Washington Sundar in the series, India’s spin twins will hold on to that spin all-rounders spot. Ashwin and Jadeja will have to come and deliver their priceless all-around service. Ashwin had an improved record in the SENA countries, while Jaddu needs to continue his good work. India can also promote Pujara as an opener in the first Test to add more depth in their bowling and batting inform of Shardul Thakur. He can provide the depth in batting and deliver his spell in bowling in favorable conditions in England. Shardul’s batting cameo had bailed India out in the Brisbane test match, which they won.
India can also think of adding Mohammad Siraj to their squad. He can replace Bumrah in the playing XI. Jasprit hasn’t been in good form off late in the 2021 season, and so far, Bumrah hasn’t picked up any wickets. He was not effective in the WTC Final also. Shami and Ishant have the experience. Shardul and Siraj will provide the X factor for India they will need in the first test match of the five-match test series.
England – ENG
Although they will not have Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer in their squad, the home side has a strong bowling lineup. England will include boh Board and Anderson in their playing XI for the first Test, which begins tomorrow. Anderson is a modern legend of fast bowling. He uses the swing and pace from any pitch like no other, while his partner Board is perfect to have in any Test squad. These two lethal bowlers were effective on the Indian tracks when they toured India earlier this year, and they will be more dangerous in the conditions which suit them the most.
But without Ben Stokes, the balance of the side is not great. Stokes provides additional depth in the batting and an extra option in the bowling. Without him, the England side might do well in their home conditions. But they will struggle a great deal. Archer is another one that England will miss. He is the player who could have troubled the Indian batters in a great deal with Anderson and Board.
Joe Root is the only England batsman who looks in the top order of England while others might struggle against a good Indian pace bowling attack and that too with the new ball. Joe Root, the skipper, can promote himself at number three to avoid the top order collapse, and Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, and Johnny Bairstow hold the key for the home side in the middle and lower order.
Here are IND vs ENG 1st Test Live Streaming Details:
What are the Live Stream details for the first match between ENG vs IND?
Fans worldwide can watch the first test match between England and India on mobile devices through the live streaming services on Sony Liv, JIO TV, Live Cricket TV, and Live Ten Sports Mobile applications. These mobile applications can be downloaded from the play store on mobile phones.
On which TV Channels the first test match between ENG vs IND will be shown?
The 1st Test match between India and England will be brought Live on the Sony Six channel and Sony Ten Networks.
What is the Toss time for the first Test match Between ENG vs IND?
The Toss of the first Test match between India and England will take place at 4.30 AM IST.
What is the Timing of the 1st match between ENG vs IND?
The first Test match between India and England will start at 5 AM IST/ 10 AM GMT and 11 AM Local. \
Where will the first match of the five-match Test series between ENG vs IND be played?
The venue of the first Test match between India and England is Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
What is India’s Playing XI in the series between ENG vs IND?
Rohit Sharma, Chesteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammad Siraj.
What will be the playing XI of England in the series between ENG vs IND?
Dominic Sibley, Rory Burns, Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Johnny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Dominic Bess, Stuart Board, James Anderson, and Mark Wood
On which channels the first Test match ENG vs IND will be shown worldwide?
| India – | Sony Sports Networks, Sony Six, Sony Ten three, Sony Ten-Four, and Sony Liv app. |
| Sri Lanka – | Channel Eye, SLRC TV Channel. |
| The United States – | Willow TV |
| The United Kingdom – | Sky Sports, Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket. |
| Australia – | Fox Sports – 501 |
| South Africa – | Super sports |
| Bangladesh – | Gazi TV |
| Canada – | Willow HD Channel. |
| MENA – | BELL n Sports |
| Afghanistan – | RTA Sports |
| New Zealand – | SKY Sports |
| West Indies – | Flow Sports |
| The United Arab Emirates – | Etisalat Cric Life |
| Sab Saharan Arica – | Supersports Cricket |
