ENG vs IND 1st Test: Eng vs Ind Preview, Head to Head, Records & Stats, Pitch & Weather Report, Leading Run Scorer, Most Wickets, Live Score & Streaming| Check All
Eng vs Ind Live: India and England will start the second World Test Championship. Team India will play a five-Test series against England.
The first match of the series will start from Wednesday 4th August. Both the teams also played Test series in January-February this year in which India won 3-1.
LIVE LINK to watch ENG vs IND:Â
https://www.sonyliv.com/custompage/sports-2245
- Match Venue: Trent Bridge Nottingham
- Time – 3:30 PM (Indian Time)
Team preview-
India and England will face each other in the most awaited Test series of this year. It will also be the start of the World Test Championship 2021-23. India finished runners-up in the first World Test Championship and England missed the final by a few points.
This time England’s team would also like to play in the World Test Championship final. With this, England’s preparation for the Ashes series will also start. Both the teams will also miss some players due to injury.
Indian team is in England since June and they are working hard for this test series. They lost the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and now, some players will be on the radar this time.
They have to prove their worth. Mayank Agarwal has been ruled out of the first Test due to injury and India may pick KL Rahul as the opener along with Rohit. They can also send Pujara to the top and try Rahul in the middle order. Hanuma Vihari is also a top-order option.
India can include Siraj this time and Ishant may have to sit out although the team would like to give priority to Ishant. India’s previous record in England is not good as they lost the previous series 4-1 in 2018, followed by back-to-back series defeats in 2011 and 2014.
India won only two Tests during this period. India would like to end the series win drought in England this time. Team India can go with two spinners Ashwin and Jadeja but they can rest a player to include an additional fast bowler. Shardul can be included in the team because of his batting ability.
Meanwhile, England will be a strong contender in their own home ground but will miss their big players Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes and Stokes. England had recently lost to New Zealand in the two-match Test series.
This will be his first series in the second World Test Championship and he will also look to build a team for the upcoming Ashes series. Jos Buttler, Sam Karen and Jonny Bairstow are the players who will be back in action. England have also shown faith in Haseeb Hameed who scored a century against India in the practice match. England can include him in the top order. 
Rory Burns was in excellent form against New Zealand. Sibley and Crowley have had a good run over the past year. Broad and Anderson will have a big responsibility. Green grass will be used on the pitch and England will create a good bounce track to trouble the Indian batsmen. It should be an exciting test.
Also Read:Â Eng vs Ind 2021: Mayank Agarwal rules out of first Test after hitting on helmet
Pitch Report-
Nottingham’s pitch is a good Test surface and provides a good balance between bat and ball. The fast bowlers can get an added advantage from the pitch. Morning sessions will be beneficial for the fast bowlers. Batting can be difficult on the third and fourth days.
Possible XI-
India – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin/Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj/Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
England – Joe Root (c), Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jack Crowley, Dom Sibley, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Mark Wood, Dom Bess, Ollie Pope
Eyes on these players will be-
India – Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami
England – Joe Root, Stuart Broad
