India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
'We realise we haven't been good enough across all facets of the game. The boys want to win, we want to win the series too.'
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Ashes Test Day-Night Test at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Australia declared their first innings on 473/9 and then reduced England to 17/2 after a near-flawless evening session to take charge of the day-night second Ashes Test on Friday.
Factbox on the five-Test Ashes series between England and Australia
A virgin Motera pitch has become the big talking point as captain Virat Kohli looks to get the combination right with India looking to continue their momentum to trouble England in the day-night third Test match, starting in Ahmedabad, on Wednesday.
A magnificent partnership between Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler helped propel England to an unlikely three-wicket victory over Pakistan in a topsy-turvy first Test at Old Trafford on Saturday. Images from Day 4 of the first Test between England and Pakistan in Manchester on Saturday.
Rohit Sharma has overtaken captain Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked Test batsman from India.
Images from Day 3 in the fifth Test between Australia and England, in Hobart, on Sunday.
Smith is currently the number one ranked batsman in the ICC Test batsmen rankings and he has a lead of 34 points over Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Ben Stokes will play as a batsman only after injuring his shoulder at Old Trafford.
Surrey fielders Moises Henriques and Rory Burns collided and were taken away in ambulances on Sunday.
Besides Agarwal, New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel and Australian pacer Mitchell Starc were also short-listed for the award.
With pacer Jofra Archer, opener Rory Burns and star all-rounder Ben Stokes back in the England squad, the visitors are likely to have some competition for spots in the team for the 1st Test against India.
India's pacemen produced a terrific display of swing bowling to crush England by 151 runs in the second Test at Lord's on Monday, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
IMAGES from the first Test between England and West Indies played at the Rose Bowl Cricket Stadium, Southampton on Thursday
England battled to 96 for four in their second innings by the end of a dramatic fourth day at Lord's to lead Australia by 104 runs and leave the second Ashes Test on a knife-edge.
ECB writes to ICC, wants the ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee to address the issue and expect that a forfeiture would be granted so that they can claim insurance as they are going to lose 40 million pound if the match is declared abandoned due to COVID.
Captain Joe Root and Coach Chris Silverwood made a boo-boo when they picked a pace-heavy attack for the pink ball third Test.
England pacer James Anderson said the hosts know Virat Kohli can be very "destructive" once he gets going so the wicket of India skipper was "extra special" for him on Wednesday.
Bairstow, who was rested for the first two Tests as part of England's rotation policy, is back with the squad and is expected to play the Day/Night Test
England were reeling at 89-4 when Buttler somewhat steadied the innings before Curran clobbered six sixes in his blistering 64 to help them to a competitive score.
Root's unbeaten knock was studded with 14 boundaries and a six.
England named an unchanged squad for first match of the three-Test series against Pakistan that begins on August 5 in Manchester, the country's cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday. England beat West Indies 2-1 in the first international Test series since the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the sport in March, winning the third match by 269 runs on Tuesday.
Australia's Steve Smith struck a superb 144 on his return to the side as they recovered from 122-8 to reach 284 all out against England in the first innings of the first Ashes Test before the hosts saw out two overs unscathed at Edgbaston on Thursday.
Anderson sustained a rib injury in England's 189-run win in the second Test at Newlands and underwent an MRI scan in Cape Town.
Dom Sibley, nicknamed 'The Fridge' by team mates, has lost 12kg since experiencing a "wake-up call" while in Sri Lanka earlier this year for the series that was aborted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India batting coach Vikram Rathour on Sunday said the team was a bit distracted going into day four of the fourth Test after head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive for COVID-19, but did well with the bat to set England a huge target for victory.
England on Tuesday rested IPL stars including Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow for the upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand while Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes were not considered for selection due to injuries.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Ashes Test played in Melbourne on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 5th Ashes Test played between England and Australia on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from Day 2 of the India-England Test at Lord's.
England seamer James Anderson claimed his seventh five-wicket haul at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground on Day 2 of the second Test against India, on Friday.
England captain Joe Root defended his decision to bat first in the opening Ashes Test against Australia and stood by the selections in their bowling unit despite going down to a heavy nine-wicket defeat at the Gabba on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, on Thursday.
'There's a difference between a captain who consults and one who is uncertain; dithering is a bad look for a captain. There are times in Australia when a captain has to be imaginative in order to force the issue and this is not one of Root's strengths.'
When Roy teamed up with Rory Burns against Ireland last week, they were England's eighth different opening partnership in the past three years and the 16th since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012.
Rajneesh Gupta lists all the important numbers from Day 5 of the 4th Test at the Oval.
'We know what we need to focus on and we take a collective decision as a group. Everyone is happy with the win. It gives us more motivation to win the next Test. We have the belief, we are just looking forward to the opportunities. The fans have been amazing as well'
England shot out India for a paltry 78 and cruised to 120 for no loss in their robust reply to take early control of the third Test at Headingley on Wednesday.
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