Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy | Lord’s ready for ‘pacy’ battle as Bumrah, Archer join ranks

London: Having given England a taste of their own medicine, rejuvenated Indians will look to increase the potency of the dosage against the one-dimensional Three Lions when the two sides clash in the third Test that kicks off here at Lord’s on Thursday.

Ever since Brendon McCullum took charge of the England Test side at the start of the summer of 2022, the strategy at home has been to make flat pitches similar to limited-overs cricket -ask the opposition to take first strike if they win the toss, try and get them out for a reasonable score when the surface has some bite in it, and then try and bully the opponents into submission by scoring runs at the rate of knots. Even when they’ve batted first, the template has been to score fast and big, and put the rivals under scoreboard pressure, although the preference has been to chase — a departure from convention in Test where the preference has generally been to bat first.

That ploy worked in the series opener at Leeds where they chased down 371 with effortless ease, although India dominated the Test for most parts with four of their batters scoring five centuries; the visitors let down by their inability to seize the moments when they were completely on top.

Caught up in that celebratory trance, Stokes, despite winning the toss for a second consecutive time at Edgbaston, asked India to bat first on another placid pitch. This time India, led by an epochal 269 from captain Shubman Gill in the first innings and followed by 161 in the second, completely cooked England. Despite the Birmingham surface offering no help nor the Dukes ball doing anything losing its shine, India pacers Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep produced sizzling performances to script a memorable India win and level the series 1-1.

Things, though, are expected to be slightly different at the ‘Home of Cricket’, where the pitch appears a lot sportier, that would bring the bowlers into play. And both India and England will welcome the return of their gun bowlers — Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer — although the latter is coming back to Test cricket after four years, and induction into the playing XI is purely on aura rather than match readiness. The injury-prone Archer, who last played for England in whites in the Ahmedabad Test in February 2021, just took part in one first-class game, and the management feels the 30-year-old is fit enough to unleash havoc on Gill and Co despite reservations in some quarters about whether he can go full tilt for the complete distance.

Bumrah’s inclusion means India will have to make one change. In all probability, Prasidh Krishna will make way for the former captain, given how Akash stole the show in Birmingham. And if the curators choose to keep the grass on, then Akash, given his skiddy trajectory and ability to swing the ball both ways, will be a menace along with Siraj and Bumrah.

It remains to be seen if India continues to play the second spinner, Washington Sundar. The forecast for the game is hot and sunny, which means playing a second spinner could come in handy, and Sundar is no mug with the bat, averaging 43.50 in the 10 Tests he has played with a highest score of 96 not out. So he could slot himself as a genuine batter and can turn his arm when needed — providing the team with solid balance.

A transitional India, who arrived in the United Kingdom on a horrendous run and weren’t given much of a chance, suddenly appear confident with the skipper leading exceptionally from the front. England, following the Edgbaston reversal, appear jolted. The stage is set for a cracker at the iconic venue.

Squads: India (from): Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur.

England (playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.