England take on India in the last Test of the Pataudi trophy at Old Trafford, Manchester on Friday, 10th September 2021. The game will decide if England get to retain the trophy by forcing a draw on India, or if India will take the trophy back with them.

In the fourth Test, India posted a comprehensive 157-run win over England at the Oval, London, upping their lead 2-1 with one more match to go. This was also India’s first win in 50 years at this venue.

India’s power-packed batting

India scripted a dominating performance in the fourth Test, despite a disappointing result in the third one. While Rohit Sharma’s 127 helped India take a substantial second innings lead and earned him the Player of the Match award, it was also KL Rahul and Virat Kohli’s 40s and Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur’s half centuries that helped India post 466 in the second innings.

The same performance from India could mean a lot of trouble for England.

Indian bowlers on fire

Yet again, there was no dependency on a single player. 18 wickets were taken, with two others being run-outs, and every bowler got at least a scalp for themselves in the game. While Umesh Yadav picked three in both innings, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja picked 2 wickets in each innings.

The bowlers have done well to keep the English batters on a tight leash and will be looking for the same when they take the field at Old Trafford.

Changes possible for England

England coach Chris Silverwood has admitted to individuals being tired in the team due to workload. Jos Buttler and Jack Leach have rejoined the English squad and Sam Billings has returned back to Kent.

Ishant, Shami back

Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami are back after sitting out of the fourth Test due to niggles. While they were replaced by Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav, both of them displayed great fighting spirit and took crucial wickets. It would be interesting to see what bowling combination the team would deploy.

Quenching the England draught

The last time India won a red ball series in England was under Rahul Dravid in 2007. If India wins this match or forces a draw on England, the Virat Kohli-led side would have won a series in England for the first time in 14 years.

The match starts at 3.30 PM IST on Friday. We head into the final Test to give this roller coaster of a Test series a fitting end!