🏏England tour of India 2024: 1st Test: 25 - 29 Jan 2024 - Day 4🏏

🏏England tour of India 2024: 1st Test: At Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad from 25 - 29 Jan 2024 at 9:30 AM IST🏏

Bazball vs India's spinners, or Bazball vs England's spinners?

India are going into a Test without Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara or Ajinkya Rahane for the first time since November 2011

Bazball vs spin. It promises to be the story of these five Tests, and it might be a story of parallel plots. There is, of course, Bazball vs India's spinners. But perhaps even more relevant to England's chances is the question of Bazball vs England's spinners.

England's spinners conceded roughly 18 runs more per wicket than India's did during the 2016-17 tour, and 12 runs more per wicket - on far spicier pitches - in 2020-21. Even if Bazball manages to inflate the averages of India's spinners on this tour, it's hard to see it translate into results if England's spinners can't bridge the gap in the other direction.

Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen batted magnificently in 2012-13, but England won that series primarily because Monty Panesar, Graeme Swann and James Anderson outbowled a transitional India attack. Since then, Australia have been the only team to come close to even drawing a Test series in India; they came as close as they did in 2016-17 and 2022-23 because their bowlers came close to matching the skill and discipline of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Can England find a way to do this? They've named their XI for the first Test in Hyderabad, which begins on Thursday on a pitch that looks dry and selectively watered, and that XI includes three frontline spinners. Those spinners have played played 36 Tests between them, of which Jack Leach accounts for 35.

Hardly Swann and Panesar, then.

It's a selection that reflects a broader reality - spin occupies a narrow and an ever-shrinking space in 21st century County cricket - and England can only choose from what they have. It means that the odds are stacked against them at the start of another India tour, but do not bet against Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes finding a way to make things interesting.

India Vs England, 1st Test, Weather Report

The venue for India vs England, 1st Test, Hyderabad, is currently in the midst of a spell of warm, sunny days with temperatures soaring close to the 30 degrees Celsius mark and little to no chance of rain. Thursday, January 25, when the two teams enter the pitch, they are likely to be greeted by a pleasant atmosphere, fit for hosting five relentless days of excellent cricket.

India Vs England, 1st Test, Pitch Report

Perhaps going against the tide of expectations, the pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is likely to favour fast bowlers, rather than spinners. Moreover, it is a batting-friendly surface, ripe for big scores. Case in point: the last time the arena hosted a Test match was in 2018 between India and West Indies, with both teams lodging 300+ scorers in their respective first innings; Umesh Yadav was adjudged the player of the match, taking six wickets in the first innings and four in the second.

Pitch and conditions

With the World Test Championship points structure putting extra pressure on teams to win games, teams around the world have taken to preparing bowler-friendly pitches. This, in India, has meant tracks that turn from day one, and Hyderabad is unlikely to buck this trend, with the pitch sporting distinctly dry-looking strips at either end on a spinner's good length.

The weather is expected to be clear and pleasant, with daytime temperatures in the high 20s (Celsius).

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In the spotlight

Shubman Gill finds himself at an interesting juncture in his Test career, seeking to establish himself in a new role at No. 3 while still finding his feet in the format. There's no doubting his talent, and his average of 30.58 after 20 Tests is partly down to the bowler-friendly pitches he has usually had to play on, but he'll feel under some pressure as Virat Kohli, who has opted out due to personal reasons, might return after the second Test. Gill endured a torrid series the last time England toured India, averaging 19.83 and falling five times in seven innings to fast bowlers. He'll want to show an improved defence against conventional and reverse swing this time, and ensure he's around for the notionally bigger challenge of scoring runs against spin.

Talk of spin has dominated the lead-up to this match, but England will not be unaware that Umesh Yadav, Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel shared 18 wickets in the last Test played in Hyderabad. That may have been more than five years ago, and an entirely different surface may have been prepared for this game, but if there's bounce on offer - as there was in 2018 - then Mark Wood could find a way to make it his ally.

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Stats and trivia

• Ashwin (490) and Jadeja (275) begin the series with an eye on Test wicket milestones.
• Joe Root (2526) is only ten runs away from surpassing Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-getter in Tests between England and India. Root already has the most centuries (nine) in these contests, and averages 63.15.
• Leach will look to build on a solid first tour of India in 2020-21, during which he took 18 wickets in four Tests at 28.72. He will be pleased that India are without Rishabh Pant, who hit him for 88 runs in just 59 balls during that series, while only being dismissed once.
• India are going into a Test match without either Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara or Ajinkya Rahane in their XI for the first time since November 2011.
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Quotes

"By no means whatever record we have in the past decade or so gives us the guarantee that we are going to come out here on top as well, and win the series. We still have to play our best cricket - good cricket that we know that we play in these conditions... The last team to beat us here in our conditions was England. I wouldn't say we are not beatable. Definitely we are. We want to think that if we don't step up or if you don't show up, well, we are going to find ourselves in trouble."

India captain Rohit Sharma is under no illusions that his team is invincible at home

"I don't necessarily think it's bold or brave, it's just me and Baz looking at the wicket and picking the XI that we think will give us the best chance. That's the XI we've gone with. It's very exciting for Tom Hartley to make his Test debut. Looking forward to seeing him out there, and captaining him. He's been very impressive in the buildup in Abu Dhabi. It's a team based around what we think will give us the best chance of winning this game."

England captain Ben Stokes on the selection of three spinners

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When: 25th January 2024 onwards, 09:30 AM IST

Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

What to expect: There is bound to be a a lot of turn on what is expected to be a dry surface as has been evidenced in Tests in India in the recent past. Additional factors that could come into play include a slightly unequal sized boundary sizes squarer of the pitch, as well as some moisture content in what has been slightly cold mornings in Hyderabad leading up to the Test. That temperature could well bring in some assistance, if any, for the seamers if the moisture content is high in the morning sessions.

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Teams

India

In the absence of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul is likely to slot into the middle-order as a straight replacement while there could be a couple of other selection calls that had multiple contenders as well. As the two specialist wicket-keepers in the squad, KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel would fight for one spot with the former probably ahead in the race given his experience and a recent ton against England Lions for India A. The third spinner's slot would be a more straightforward choice given Axar Patel's all-round abilities even as Kuldeep Yadav pushes with his improved skillset.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England

England have named two relatively young spinners who have a combined experience of 1 Test between them. While the attack wears thin on experience, England would well look towards Australia who fared decently with a similar composition on their tour of India in 2023. The lone pacer in Mark Wood offers them some firepower with the ball particularly if he manages to extract some reverse swing. However, all eyes are bound to be on how their batters fare with their approach in India.

Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, (c) Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, Mark Wood, Jack Leach.

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Squads:

England Squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, James Anderson, Daniel Lawrence, Gus Atkinson, Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed

India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Srikar Bharat, Dhruv Jurel, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel

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HEAD TO HEAD LAST 5 MATCHES

England won by 7 wickets, 01-Jul-2022

India won by 157 runs, 02-Sep-2021

England won by an innings and 76 runs, 25-Aug-2021

India won by 151 runs, 12-Aug-2021

Match drawn, 04-Aug-2021

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Thanks for the tag 💙💙.

Hope this match goes on for 5 days.