This article will talk about the probable XIs for both teams and continue with the Dream11 predictions and the winning fantasy team for the 4th Test between England and India that is scheduled to start on the 2nd of September 2021.
After the drawn first match and historic India’s win at Lord’s, England made an outstanding comeback at Headingley by winning the match by an inning and 75 runs. The caravan of India’s tour of England comes to London one more time for the fourth Test match on Thursday.
Virat Kohli-led India batted first after winning the toss at Leeds. However, conditions were seam friendly as the strong Indian batting line-up collapsed in front of the English seam attack and bowled out on 76 runs. James Anderson was the star performer again for the home side with his 3/6 performance. Overton also picked three wickets. During the second inning, England made a very healthy lead of 354 runs. Joe Root scored his third hundred (121) and Hameed(68), Malan(77), Burns(61) also scored half-centuries.
The Indian pace attack looked off-color against the strong English batting lineup as they bowled 132 overs to get ten wickets of the home side. Mohammad Shami was the top wicket-taker with 4 wickets to his name. All other bowlers picked 2 wickets each except Ishant Sharma. In the third inning, Pujara scored 91 runs, Rohit Sharma(59) and Virat Kohli(55) also scored half-centuries but failed to save a Test for their team.
Match Details
Venue: Kennington Oval, London
Pitch and Weather: The pitch of Oval will be a typical English wicket as pacers will get assistance in the first two days. There will be enough movements for seam and swing bowlers from the surface. However, the pitch will get better as the match progresses. The spinners will come into the game during the last two days of the Match. The average first inning score in this match will be around 300 to 350 runs.
The weather of London will be cloudy throughout the Test match as some showers are expected during the last two days of the game. The temperature will be around 15°C to 19°C during all five days.
Probable Playing XIs
England registered a comfortable victory at Leeds but the home side will be forced to make a couple of changes in the playing XI. Jos Buttler has been unavailable for the remaining matches of this series so Ollie Pope is likely to replace him. Chris Woakes will be available for selection so the pace all-rounder is likely to replace Sam Curran in this fourth Test. Rory Burns and Hameed will continue to open with Dawid Malan at three. Bairstow will handle the glove-work behind the stumps. There will not be any change in the bowling department as James Anderson and Ollie Robinson both are fit and available for this match.
On the other hand, India has few tough questions to face as far as selection is concerned. Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to feature in this fourth Test match of the series in place of Ishant Sharma. Shardul Thakur can also replace of seam bowler due to rotation. As far as the batting department is concerned, India is likely to play the same batting lineup, although Hanuma Vihari can be an option as a sixth batsman for this Oval Test against the home side.
England
Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow(wk), Ollie Pope, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Craig Overton
India
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami/Shardul Thakur/Hanuma Vihari, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
Match Prediction
After two average matches in this series, England has made a strong comeback in the third Test at Leeds. They are high on confidence and will aim to take lead in this match. However, India has all capabilities to make comeback but by looking at the form, England will start as a favorite in this match.
Fantasy Tips
Batsmen: Joe Root is an obvious pick from the batting section. He is the highest run-scorer in this ongoing series with three hundred in three matches. KL Rahul had an average Test match at Leeds but he has been in good form. Virat Kohli scored 55 runs in the last inning so he can be picked as the third batsman. Rohit Sharma scored 230 runs in this series so he should fourth batsman in your fantasy team. Dawid Malan scored a half-century in the last inning.
Wicket-Keepers: Jonny Bairstow is the only best option available from the wicket-keeping section. Bairstow scored 147 runs in 3 matches for England in this series.
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja scored 133 runs in this series and also picked two wickets in the last match at Leeds. He will get more suitable conditions at this ground so he can be selected. Chris Woakes is making his comeback in the England side, he will be keen to perform in his first outing in this series.
Bowlers: James Anderson picked four wickets in the last Test match. He will again start as one of the main wicket-taker for the home side. Ollie Robinson picked a five-wicket haul in the last inning. Mohammad Shami picked 11 wickets in this series including three in the last match.
Captaincy Choices
Fantasy Team: KL Rahul(VC), Rohit Sharma, Joe Root(c), Virat Kohli, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ravindra Jadeja, Chris Woakes, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Mohammad Shami.
Captain – Joe Root
Joe Root scored 507 runs in three Test matches with an average of 126 so he can be picked as captain in this fourth match of the series against India.
Vice-Captain – KL Rahul
KL Rahul is the second-highest run-scorer in this series with 252 runs. He will be the best pick to vice-captain in this match.
Dream11 Team
