- The much anticipated five-Test match series between India and England will kick-start from Wednesday, 04th August 2021 at Nottingham, England. Cricket enthusiasts will be salivating at the prospects of witnessing an electrifying contest between the two evenly matched teams who would strain every sinew to prove their superiority over the other during the series. There is always something special that can be expected in England where the pace bowlers have a defining say in the eventual outcome of the match owing to conducive conditions prevalent throughout the day.
PC: ANI
- Overcast conditions tend to favour the swing bowlers more which will invariably test the capabilities and adaptability of the batsmen in no small measures. As is the case with everybody else, it is anything but tough for the professional cricketers as Covid scare lurks around. An innovative but stressful biosafety bubble environment created to ensure keeping the spread of the Covid infection at bay is proving to be excruciatingly challenging. No wonder, scores of well-established and internationally acknowledged cricket superstars are taking a break from the game citing mental challenges.
- Star allrounder Ben Stokes of England is the latest casualty who has pulled out of international cricket for an indefinite period citing prioritizing of mental well-being. There is any number of sportspersons from different disciplines the following suit by coming out of the closet to disclose psychological challenges bogging them. Under these circumstances, the India-England Test series assumes significant importance for the entertainment starved cricket fans looking out for nail-biting performances on the cricket field. Make no mistake, they will not be disappointed as the high-voltage contest expected from both the teams is bound to keep them glued to the happenings.
PC: Sam Drury
- As is the norm, the host team will start as favourites but it won’t be a cakewalk as Team India will present formidable opposition in all departments of the game. Over the years, Team India has shown how exceptionally good travellers and more so, of late. The back-to-back overseas series wins in Australia amply demonstrate the improvements shown by Team India on this front. No longer to be treated as pushovers, you see. As is known, the bowlers win the matches as twenty wickets are to be taken to emerge victoriously. For that to happen, the batsmen have to score sufficient runs allowing the bowlers the much-needed cushion to go all out. If the batsmen fail to put up a decent enough score on the board, expect the teams to struggle to stay afloat.
- Therefore, batsmen from both teams should be extremely well prepared to bat longer and score heavily. World-class batters like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Joe Root, Johny Bairstow, and Jos Butler should place a heavy price on their wickets by making every effort to score big. Pace spearheads like Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to revel by contributing handsomely. Likewise spinning all-rounders like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja too are primed to essay significant roles even though the prevailing conditions might be of little help to their wares. Nonetheless, an exciting cricket awaits and let us buckle up our seats to soak in the atmosphere. Bring it on!
