Riding high on vengeance, India would take England in the first Test match at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. The series holds a lot of significance for both the teams and they will like to start off with a win to seize early momentum.
For India it will be a grudge series and after their 4-0 whitewash in England last season they would be eager for a payback and exact revenge on Alastair Cook and co, whereas for the visitors the series can help them reclaim the number 1 if they complete one more whitewash. England will also be chasing history and aim for their first series win in India since 1984-85.
It is tough ask for them to beat India in their own backyard but then what will please them is India’s record at the Motera. The men in blue have won only three of 11 Tests that they have played here and the last time they won here was back in 2005. After that they crashed to quite a few humiliating defeats on this ground. While India will be hoping to break the jinx, England will count on India’s poor record on this ground.
The preparations of the two warring teams give a clear indication that they are in for the kill. Indian players have either played Ranji Trophy matches or were part of India A’s team which took on England in the warm-up game, whereas England tuned up for the series with three warm-up games.
Both the teams know each other style of play very well and what will bother them is the pitch that has been laid for this match is a total unknown entity as it is newly laid track. So it is not known and even though the teams will have a good look at the pitch, the actual nature of it will be known only on Thursday.
In the past it has been seen that fast bowlers have had a say on the pitch and England will fancy that fact. India will have to take lesson from their past losses here on this ground and be ready to take on the English pace battery.
Let us take a look at the teams, their strengths, weaknesses and more
India:
Squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.
(Ashok Dinda has been called as a cover for unfit Ishant Sharma.)
Strengths: India’s biggest strength is their batting line-up. Indian bat very deep and they are one of the best units of the world cricket. They can annihilate any bowling attack on their and all the bowlers are wary of the fact. Indian tracks have always been spinner-friendly and India’s ability to play spin very well makes them a force to reckon to.
Weaknesses: Even though India are a very good batting side, their inability to play bouncers effectively have seen them run into trouble on many occasions. English bowlers know the fact very well and they will definitely be targeting that area. Also Indian batting at times have looked very frail against quality pace attack and England are a very good bowling side. They will have to play them very cautiously and avoid quick fall of wickets.
Worries: Poor form of Indian openers is their biggest worry ahead of the match. Indian opening combo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir is a very good one and they have good average as well. But they have not been able to fire for quite some time now and India will hope that they come good in the match and the series.
Key players: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan
England:
Squad: Alastair Cook (cap), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Graham Onions, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott
Strengths: England biggest strength is their all-round attack. They have a very good batting line-up and have an equally good bowling unit. The players complement each other’s performance well and it has been a key to their success. They have some of the best players in the world namely Cook, Pietersen, Swann, Anderson and they all have decent record against India.
Weaknesses: Their biggest problem is their weakness against spin bowling. They are not the best players of spin and it can be the decisive factor in the match and the series. Indian players have already said that they will make the most of the home conditions and dish out rank turners so that the can counter England well. Barring few players most of the players are not comfortable against spin and India will look to make full use of it.
Worries: Cook will be bothered a lot as to who to select in the playing XI.Monty Panesar is a good bowlers and can be very useful in Indian conditions. But then whether to include him in the squad at the cost of a pacer will be something that Cook will have to think over.
Key players: Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann
By Indian Sports News Network