The fourth test match between England and India gets under way at Kennington Oval, London on Thursday and the series is all square at 1-1 with two to play.
After the first test ended in a draw and India won the second contest by 151 runs England came into the third test at Headingley as underdogs but they turned things around in some style, coming out on top by an innings and 76 runs.
The damage was done on Day 1 as India were bowled out for just 78 and England subsequently replied with 432 with Joe Root top scoring with 121. India made 278 in their second knock (Pujara 91) and England didn't have to bat again. Ollie Robinson took 5 second innings wickets and 7 in total to claim the Man of the
Match award and this was how the teams lined up at Leeds.
England - Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson
India - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
As far as the Oval team news is concerned Chris Wokaes is back in the England squad and Joss Buttler will not be available so Bairstow is expected to take over as keeper.
Series Top Run Scorers
Joe Root 507 (5 innings)
KL Rahul 252 (6 innings)
Rohit Sharma 230 (6 innings)
Series Top Wicket Takers
Ollie Robinson 16
Jasprit Bumrah 14
James Anderson 13
Siraj 13
(all have played 3 matches)
The Venue The Oval London
Over the course of the last decade England have played 8 test matches at the Oval, winning 4, drawing 1 and losing 3.
Two of England's wins came against India, by an innings and 244 runs in August 2014 and by 118 runs in September 2018.
The most recent test match at this venue came against Australia 12 months ago and England won by 135 runs. England made scored of 294 and 329 to Australia's 225 and 263.
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The Betting - 4th Test
England are currently trading at around 5/4 to win the game with the draw a 7/2 chance and India can be backed at around 6/4
As far as the top 1st innings bat markets are concerned Joe Root is 16/10 favourite for England and Virat Kohli is 5/2 for India
Jimmy Anderson (2/1) is the favourite to be top England wicket taker in the first innings whilst Jasprit Bumrah is 12/5 favourite to do likewise for India
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict
I had no punting joy in the third test due to India's first innings batting collapse which I found difficult to get my head around.
The series is shaping up to be a thriller and the momentum is now with the home side. I'm open minded about the result and my first port of call is Sunbet's Player Performance markets where a total points count is calculated as follows; Run = 1pt. Catch = 10pts. Wicket = 20pts. Stumping = 25pts.
Rishabh Pant to go over the current quote of 96.5 looks on to me. He should pick up a few catches and although his series average with the bat is a disappointing 17.5 he is due a more substantial knock.
Virat Kohli made just 7 runs in India's first innings at Leeds but 55 in the second innings sways me to a Kohli 50 in the first knock.
As far as the first innings player runs markets are concerned Rohit Sharma gets my vote to score 25 or more
Bets: Player Performance Rishabh Pant over 96.5 at 19/20
To Score a 50 in the 1st Innings Kohli? (yes) at 11/8
First Innings Player Runs Rohit Sharma over 24.5 at 17/20
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Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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