India will start off their series against England with a tour game against Somerset from July 15, but it will be the Test series that could send the TV ratings soaring. India play England in a four-match Test series, to be followed by the limited overs version of the game.
Currently, the Indian side is ranked number one in the Test rankings while the English side is just one point behind the second-ranked South African side. However, more vitally than the rankings alone, what matters is the fact that the two sides will be evenly matched given that the series will be played in England.
On the one hand, India will be going into the series, having remained unbeaten ever since MS Dhoni took over the captaincy in 2008. On their way, they have beaten Australia twice and drawn two series against South Africa. On the other hand, England are clearly a team to watch out for. They dismantled Sri Lanka in one session on the last day of the first Test recently and have a very balanced side.
India’s biggest strength over the years has been their batting but they have generally taken time to get used to the conditions in an away series. Against a side like England, this could be a fatal mistake and India could do well to use the tour game to get attuned to what they may face in the series.
However, the good news for the Indians is that they possess a reasonably strong bowling line-up this time – Zaheer Khan would return back to the side after missing out on more than a month and a half of cricket while Ishant Sharma’s recent form culminated into a man of the series award against West Indies. And the Indians will have three, fit pace bowlers to choose their third fast bowler from – there is Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Sreesanth.
England will look up to their batsmen in form – Alastair Cook and Jonathon Trott. Cook’s batting has flowered so well that he ended the ODI series, a previously disliked format of the game for him, with the most runs. Trott is a grafter, who does an excellent job at the number three position and together with Ian Bell, the side will look to continue with their run-scoring spree.
The bowling might, in fact, be a bit of a concern. James Anderson has had a good couple of months after the World Cup, while Graeme Swann has usurped Daniel Vettori in the ICC ODI rankings to become the new number one. However, Stuart Broad’s poor form and the lack of penetration from the other end will mean that the selectors will be in a huddle till the very end to decide on their four-pronged attack.
To me, there is nothing to choose from between the two sides.