In Stats: Fighting History, Finding Positives Ahead of Fourth Test

History is against India in more than one way, but the team also has positives going into the Southampton Test.

Virat Kohli leads his teammates off the field during a Test match.

(Photo: AP)

History and Joe Root’s England team will be in the way of the Indian team when they set foot into the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Thursday, 30 August. India are trailing the hosts 1-2, and much like the situation they faced at Trent Bridge where they had to win or draw the match to keep the series alive, they need to win or draw this fourth Test too to ensure the series remains alive when they head to The Oval for the final Test.

History is against Team India in more than one way:

• Teams have come back from being 0-2 down to win a five-Test series only once in Test history; in 1936-37, the Australian team led by Sir Don Bradman bounced back from trailing 0-2 to beat England 3-2.
  
• Further, India have never defeated England in any format in internationals at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

(For more news and updates from India's tour of England, click here.)

Positives for Team India

The positive that Team India can carry into the Test starting Thursday, is that not only do they have the confidence of a win behind them, but the win was the outcome of a complete performance.

What India did at Trent Bridge could serve as the template for the perfect Test match performance – every individual in the team contributed to the team’s cause and all three departments (batting, bowling and fielding) performed to near-optimum levels. The batsmen got runs individually and stitched together partnerships, the bowlers shared the spoils, they were ably supported by the fielders who pouched opportunities that came their way, and the captain displayed good temperament and was prepared to work for wickets.

What Must India Do?

It is about 45 Test matches now since India have fielded the same XI in consecutive Tests; if there are no injury concerns and if the conditions at the Rose Bowl are ideal Test match conditions, Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri and the on-tour selector must resist the temptation to make changes to the eleven which won the Test match in Nottingham.

It is particularly essential that the tour-selection committee doesn’t tinker with the pace bowling line-up – which has been extremely effective so far in this series. The performance of the pace attack so far in this series – 38 wickets in five innings at a strike-rate of 43.76 – rates as the best by an Indian pace bowling line-up in a Test series in England.

Opportunity for Team India

It hasn’t happened too often in the past that the Indian team has been successful in winning consecutive Test matches when playing outside of sub-continent conditions; the last time India won two Test matches on the bounce in a series outside Asia was in 2005. The Rose Bowl Test match is a great opportunity for the Indian team to add to that list.

The other opportunities available for the Indian team to tap are:

1) England have struggled with their opening pair; so far in this series England have managed only one 50-plus opening partnership.

2) There will be a forced change in the roles within the England team. Jonny Bairstow suffered an injury in the previous, and though he is said to have recovered from the injury, he is only expected to play as a specialist batsman – and not as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Now, Bairstow’s numbers as specialist batsman pale in comparison to his numbers as wicketkeeper-batsman. Similarly, Jos Buttler’s number as wicketkeeper-batsman pale in comparison to matches when he plays as specialist batsman.

Threats for Team India

England have made two changes to their playing eleven for the fourth Test. Sam Curran will replace Chris Woakes, who has been suffering from a thigh injury and Ollie Pope will make way for Moeen Ali.

The 20-year-old Curran was named the Man of the Match in the first Test at Birmingham. When England were struggling at 86/6 in the second innings, Curran was the one, who brought the home side back into the game with an innings of 63 runs from 65 balls. The fast bowler had returned with figures of 4/74 in the first innings as well.

Moeen Ali will play his first Test of this series on Thursday. The off-spinning all-rounder was the joint second highest wicket-taker in India’s previous tour of England with 19 wickets.