3rd Test Preview: England captain Joe Root has insisted he is "still living my boyhood dream" despite his already injury-stricken side being dealt another blow ahead of the third Test against India at Headingley starting Wednesday.
Root's men are 1-0 down in the five-match series after a 151-run defeat in the second Test at Lord's and their task of drawing level was made more difficult when fast bowler Mark Wood was ruled out Monday of this week's match at the skipper's Yorkshire home ground.
Wood suffered a shoulder injury diving into an advertising hoarding saving a boundary at Lord's and has now joined Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Olly Stone among England's sidelined quicks.
Meanwhile, Ben Stokes will not be returning to the scene of his stunning match-winning century in a 2019 Ashes Test against Australia, with the star all-rounder still on a mental health break.
As for the batting, Root has been a lone shining light in a top-order that has otherwise repeatedly failed to score runs during England's current sequence of seven Tests without a win.
At Lord's, despite his magnificent first-innings 180 and a top score of 33 in the second innings, England were still dismissed for just 120 inside 52 overs on the last day.
England, having dropped Dom Sibley, following the opener's dismal run of low scores that has seen him average 19.77 in 10 Tests this year, are now set to promote Haseeb Hameed — who managed just nine runs in total on his international return at Lord's — from three to partner Rory Burns at the top of the order.
That would give England their 22nd different opening partnership since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, with the recalled Dawid Malan set to bat at first-wicket down.
For all the difficulties Test openers worldwide are experiencing — since 2017 the average first-wicket partnership around the globe is only 30.38 runs — India's KL Rahul (129) and Rohit Sharma (83) shared a stand of 126 at Lord's, a match where England were in the game until the last day.
Here's all you need to know about when and where to watch the third England-India Test match:
When will the third India vs England Test be played?
The third England vs India Test will be played from Wednesday, 25 August, 2021.
Where will the third India vs England Test be played?
The third Test between England and India will be played at Headingley in Leeds.
What time will the third India vs England Test begin?
The third Test between England and India will begin at 3.30 pm IST. The toss is set to take place at 3 pm.
How can I watch the India vs England Test match?
You can watch the third England vs India Test on Sony Six/ Sony Six HD, Sony Ten 3/ Sony Ten 3 HD, with LIVE streaming on Sony LIV. You can also follow our LIVE blog on firstpost.com for scores and updates.
Squads
England: Joe Root (Captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wkt), Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson.
India: India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav.
With inputs from AFP
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