Confident India ready for English test at home

CHENNAI: A cracker of a contest is on the cards when India meet England in the first Test of the four-Test series at the MA Chidambaram stadium here on Friday. Both teams will be high on confidence after their successful series wins against Australia and Sri Lanka respectively.

No team in recent times has bounced back after an abysmal 36 all out as India did. The fact that India went on to trump Australia 2-1 to win the series with several debutants will hold them in good stead. With the return of its talismanic skipper Virat Kohli, its strong batting line up and the variety it has in its attack, the home team holds an edge over England.

This apart, the return of R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah augurs well for a side looking to carry forward the momentum from Australia.

India are without Ravindra Jadeja but it is an opportunity for the likes of  Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to make an impact.

For England, the return of key men Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, who were both rested for the Sri Lanka tour, will add teeth to their attack. With Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad around, they have a problem of choice.

Joe Root believes that the series will be exciting and hinted that pressure would be more on India due to expectations and that the fact that they playing at home.

"It's going to be an amazing series to be part of. To get the opportunity to play India off the back of them beating Australia in Australia - what a scalp that would be for us. There will be more pressure on them than us -- they have an expectation to uphold that record they have in their conditions," Root said.

"We're quietly confident. We're playing some good cricket, we're improving all the time, implementing the game plan we constantly talk about more consistently. I think it's going to make for a fascinating watch. I'm really excited about it. It will be great for Virat to be back out there as well and for cricket fans in general -- we want to play against the best and you want to beat the best. It's an opportunity for us to do that. It's going to be great fun and I'm really looking forward to it," added the Yorkshire-born player who will be playing his 100th Test.

ALSO SEE | India vs England Test Series: Top individual knocks

Ashwin has developed the special art of targeting the best opposition players and getting the better of them - something he did against Steve Smith in Australia and Alastair Cook in the past. So how does Root propose to handle Ashwin?

"I won't look to dominate or defend but just try and play the ball that is delivered. If I stay around for a period of time, I will score some big runs. He (Ashwin) has got a great record in India and is probably full of confidence," said Root.

"You know, I have played against him before and scored some runs and he (Ashwin) has got the better of me a couple of times and it will be a little battle between the Test match. The contest that you want to get the better off," he added.

Virat Kohli was pleased to be back among the thick of things and insisted that Rishabh Pant will continue to keep wickets and that spinners will be back in action once again.

"Rishabh will take the gloves on Friday. He has had impactful performances in Australia recently. He is in good space. We want him to build on this along with him improving all aspects of the game, which will happen with more game time. He will continue to be backed. With his hard work he can be a very very consistent match-winner and someone the opposition will be wary of in the future," Kohli said.

The wicket was initially a green top, now it looks like a regular Chepauk wicket which will assist the spinners as the match progresses. There is a good chance of India playing three spinners.

"The pitch is a normal Chepauk pitch. It's a nice batting track with spinners getting assistance. But the track is good enough for fast bowlers to stay in the game also. So, generally, it is a good cricketing wicket," Kohli observed.

Though India didn't reveal their playing XI, the skipper said that when it comes to picking the bowlers, balance will be the key. 

"It's a delicate balance that we have. Kuldeep hasn't had much of game time in the longest format for a while now. In New Zealand, the conditions were not suited for playing three spinners, something he understood. Now that the home season starts, he will be in the scheme of things. He will be in the team's plans," insisted Kohli.

"With the bowling combinations, we will try to give ourselves as many options as possible. Guys having the ability to contribute with the bat - that's been the pattern for success for us in home conditions," added Kohli.