England's defensive batting approach against India was a conscious decision to save the second Test on a wearing track, the touring side's captain Alastair Cook said after the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the series in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
England off-spinner Moeen Ali claimed three quick wickets to help restrict India to 415 for seven on the second morning of the second test on Friday. - Scorecard: All-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was closing in on his second half-century of the series and was unbeaten on 47 with debutant off-spinner Jayant Yadav not out on 26 at the other end. Resuming the second day on 317-4 in the first ever test match in the port city of Visakhapatnam, captain Virat Kohli and Ashwin steered India smoothly with a fifth wicket partnership of 35.
Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow hit half-centuries and combined in a sixth-wicket stand of 110 to launch England's fightback against India in the second Test on Saturday. - Scorecard: The pair kept the hosts at bay all morning on the third day before being separated 10 minutes before lunch as England reached 191 for six at the break, replying to India's first innings 455.
Bangladesh lost their last nine wickets for 49 runs as England hit back from a slow start on the first day of the second and final Test in Dhaka.
Moeen Ali survived five reviews in his charmed innings as he and Jonny Bairstow helped England overcome their spin discomfort and post 258 for seven in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong, on Thursday.
Bangladesh thumped England in a bowler-dominated contest after home skipper Mashrafe Mortaza's all-round brilliance secured their series-levelling 34-run victory in the second One-day International on Sunday.
He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.
Guptill will undergo a fitness Test on Sunday after which a final decision will be taken on whether he can partner Henry Nicholls at the top of New Zealand's order.
An inspired Ben Stokes revived England with ball and bat on the third day against Bangladesh on Saturday to put the visitors firmly in control of the opening Test in Chittagong.
Defending champions India crashed out of the Under-19 World Cup after suffering a three-wicket defeat at the hands of a disciplined England side in the quarterfinals in Dubai on Saturday.
Circumstances conspired to push Jonny Bairstow up England's batting order in the third Test against India and the 27-year-old believes he repaid the faith with a composed knock of 89 to rescue his team after a poor start on Saturday.
India's spinners wreaked havoc on Day 5 as England were bowled out for a paltry 158 to go down by a huge margin of 246 runs in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Jake Ball made a memorable One-day debut as he combined with Adil Rashid to derail Bangladesh's chase and bowl England to a thrilling 21-run victory in the first match of the series, in Mirpur, on Friday.
India's spinners have been a handful at home in recent years.
Ahead of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot, Rajneesh Gupta looks at the two teams and their numbers.
If England's struggles in Bangladesh are anything to go by, they could be in for an even rougher ride in India over the next couple of months when they take on the world's number one side in a five-match series in similar spin-friendly conditions.
India are leading the five-match series 3-0 and should they taste success in the final Test, it will be their biggest against England, the previous being the 3-0 whitewash in 1992-93 under Mohammed Azharuddin's captaincy.
The India captain's formula of getting runs consistently is just to go out there and live in the situation rather than thinking of runs as his ultimate goal.
With only a day to go for the start of the much-anticipated five-match Test series between India and England, all eyes would be on aggressive skipper Virat Kohli as he readies to motivate his boys and avenge the 2012 home series loss against Alastair Cook's men.
Ponting shrugged off Australia's injury worries and the idea of there being risk in rushing Smith and Warner into the team.
A dominant India will be eyeing to clinch the five-Test series against England with yet another comprehensive victory when the two teams square off in the fourth match of the series starting from Thursday. With an unassailable 2-0 lead after three Tests, the confidence of the Virat Kohli-led team is sky high and they would like to regain the Anthony de Mello Trophy which they had lost to Alastair Cook's side back in 2012. Even if England manage a draw, India will win the series after the visitors' hat-trick of wins- 2011 in England, 2012 in India and 2014 in England again.
Under fire after a below-par show on a good batting strip, the Indian spinners will aim for an improved show on a comparatively more helpful track as they take on a gritty England in the second Test, starting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
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