England have lost their batting rhythm after playing on two difficult surfaces and looked like "startled rabbits" in the second innings of the third Test against India, according to former skipper Nasser Hussain.
Young England batsman Zak Crawley believes Ben Stokes will have no trouble filling the captain's shoe in the absence if Joe Root as the all-rounder is already a "big leader" of the team. Root will miss the Test series opener against West Indies, which starts on Wednesday at the Ageas Bowl to attend the birth of his second child, handing over the captaincy duties to England's World Cup hero Stokes.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from the first day of the India-England Test at Trent Bridge.
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'I think there's going to be a very interesting story that's going to run through this series -- Kohli comes back as captain after Ajinkya Rahane was so good in Australia'
While a draw always seems a safe option in a game like this but Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri wouldn't like to play a defensive game which at times can be counter-productive.
'It's not really a surprise (the rule was changed). I genuinely think that no one ever thought that was going to happen and it did'
India captain Virat Kohli said poor batting and not the pitch was responsible for the day-night third Test against England winding up inside two days, and described the performance of batsmen on both sides as "bizarre".
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a detailed statistical analysis on the struggles of Rahane and Pujara since 2020.
Images from Day 2 in the first Test between England and India, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Thursday.
Pakistan beat England by nine wickets in the first Test at Lord's on Sunday.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai.
It will be interesting to see if India turn to Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test in Chennai, starting on Saturday, or continue with their strange tactics of freezing him out.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
'Ghost-like stands repel rather than attract audiences,' observes Ashis Ray.
Jonny Bairstow has been rested and injured pacer Jofra Archer was left out while spinner Moeen Ali was unavailable for Test selection.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell lists a number of weaknesses in England's line-up, from Alastair Cook's performance suffering due to not having a stable opening partner to predictability in their pace attack and off-spinner Dom Bess's inexperience.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's on Day 2
Images from Day 3 of the fourth Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Test between England and Pakistan played at Lord's on Saturday
England captain Joe Root admitted his team had been comprehensively outplayed by an inexperienced Pakistan side in their nine-wicket loss to the tourists in the first Test at Lord's.
It is an perfect stage for India's mercurial skipper Virat Kohli, who loves to bring his A game to the fore when the chips are down.
A look at the newly-laid dark coloured Chepauk track is an indication that unlike the strip used during the first Test, this one will offer turn earlier than expected.
India will aim to soar higher with the return of Virat Kohli against Joe Root's England
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Monday.
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