The third IND vs ENG Test match will be played in Rajkot from February 15 to 19. The series is tied 1-1 with England winning the first Test and India the second. The Test series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 campaign.
India will be led by Rohit Sharma while Been Stokes will lead England. Both batsmen are struggling for form with selection headaches ahead of the third Test. The two teams head into this Test match after a 10-day break and have time to reflect on the last two Test matches.
Both teams have injury concerns heading into this series. India will be without KL Rahul, who is ruled out after not fully recovering from his right quadriceps injury.
The BCCI has named Devdutt Padikkal as his replacement. Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja has recovered from his hamstring injury and is available for selection. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be rested in the third Test.
England, on the other hand, will miss Jack Leach for the rest of the series. The England spinner who suffered a knee injury in the first Test in Hyderabad was ruled out of the second Test. The ECB has now confirmed that he will also miss the remaining three Test matches. The board has not yet named a replacement.
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In another worrying matter, visa issues have re-emerged for the England team. This time it is Rehan Ahmed who was initially denied entry into the country while the English players returned from Abu Dhabi.
Rehan was detained at the Rajkot airport because he only had a single-entry visa. He was then granted a two-day emergency visa and the ECB was confident that the matter would be resolved within a couple of days.
For India, Virat Kohli will miss the rest of the Test series after he informed the BCCI about the same. The board has decided to keep the reason to itself while there is speculation about his long absence. The BCCI has also asked Indian players who are not part of the Test team to play the next round of Ranji Trophy matches for their respective state teams.
India are likely to field an international debut for Dhruv Jurel after KS Bharat’s performances in the first two Tests were unsatisfactory. Sarfaraz Khan could also get his first Test title.
It will be interesting to see if Kuldeep Yadav retains his place with Jadeja available for selection. Meanwhile, a slow team is reportedly expected to be prepared for the third test. Indian batsmen have struggled with spin in the series so far.
Recent Venue Records (Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot)
STATISTICS – TEST
Total matches 2
Matches won by batting first 1
1st Inns average score 593
Average score for 2nd Inns 334
Average score for 3rd Inns 228
Average score for 4th Inns 172
Highest recorded total 649/9 (149.5 Ov) by IND vs WI
Lowest total on record 181/10 (48 Ov) by WI vs IND
Who will score the most runs for India: Yashasvi Jaiswal / Shubman Gill
Who will take the most wickets for India: Ravichandran Ashwin / Ravindra Jadeja
Who will score the most runs for England: Joe Root/Ollie Pope
Who will take the most wickets for England: James Anderson/Tom Hartley
Today’s Match Prediction IND vs ENG: Third Test, Who Will Win Today’s Test Match? 2024
The Test series is balanced heading into the third Test with England able to make a comeback. However, playing at home, Indian players know the conditions better and are therefore ahead in the game.
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