Ahmedabad: The third Test between India and England is all set to begin at the world’s largest cricket stadium, the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad from Wednesday.
After two exciting Tests in Chennai, the third game will be played in newly constructed Motera Stadium. Team India under Virat Kohli will step on the ground after a great win in the second Test. Virat and co will eye a win in this Test which will help India to book a place in the World Test Championship final. Currently, India ranks second in the WTC table. With paceguns Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav set to don the white jersey, the Indians will fancy their chances.
THE PINK BALL TEST
The pink ball adds extra element of action to the game starting on Wednesday. Though India has played handful of pink Tests, with more experience of playing with the pink, the visitors will feel confident of their chances.
India has marked their appearance in two Day-Night Tests so far, one at home and one away. Their previous pink-ball fixture in Australia witnessed shock (36 all-out) as Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins bagged five and four wickets, respectively. India's first pink-ball Test, played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, was the shortest (968 balls in the match) non-drawn Test ever in India.
Talking about the third game, though England have more experience of pink-ball cricket but possibly the Motera track would be as unacquainted as any they would have played on under lights. They will need to face this extra challenge and how they attack that will decide who ends up winners.
With this being the first-ever Test match at the Motera, there is a sense of uncertainty around the pitch. However, by the looks of it, a good track with a touch of green awaits the two sides. The fast bowlers should get the pink ball to swing around under the lights. The spinners should also have a say in this game. Batting first will be the perfect option as the wicket could get tricky to bat on by the fourth innings.
PROBABLE LINE UP
India Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
England Probable XI: Zak Crawley, Dom Sibley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wk), Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, James Anderson.
WELCOME TO WORLD’S LARGEST CRICKET STADIUM
The Gujarat Cricket Association has reconstructed the Motera Stadium. The stadium earlier had seating capacity of 54,000 fans. Now, the newly constructed Motera can host 1,10,000 fans, making it the largest cricket stadium in the world. However, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, the BCCI and the Gujarat Cricket Association have permitted 50 per cent fans for the two India vs England Test matches here.
