Ranchi (Jharkhand): India, who are 2-1 ahead, would look to seal the five match series, as they would aim for a win when they take on Ben Stokes led England in the fourth Test beginning here on Friday.
But the biggest question in the minds of the cricket fan is whether India will play four specialist spinners in their playing XI and if that happens, it will be indeed a rare things. The Indian team management have decided to leave out pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah due to workload management and so in all likelihood it will be the bowling attack will be led by Mohammed Siraj.
All eyes will be on the track at the JSCA International Stadium and India can play a spin quartet - seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was the Player of the Match in the third Test at Rajkot, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
But this entirely depends on the track, which will be at offer at the JSCA Stadium here and if it is a rank turner, then it will be a no brainer for Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid to go in with four spinners. The last time India played a spin quartet in the XI was way back in 2012 against England in Nagpur. In the fourth Test of the series, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla featured in the final XI.
If India will go in with four spinners, then it is very unlikely that Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep will play in Ranchi. India's batting is in full flow as all the batters are among the runs. Young Yashasvi Jaiswal, who registered several records to his name by scoring his second double hundred in Rajkot, will be eyeing to break a few more records.
The southpaw will be looking to take on a listless England attack once again and so would be the likes of Rohit Sharma, who scored a century in the third Test and needs only 22 runs to complete 4,000 Test runs.
Shubman Gill is also among the runs and if India's top order fires in unison, it will be a nightmare for England. 'Mumbaikar' Sarfaraz Khan has a dream debut to his Test career as he notched up two half centuries and he would like to continue from where he left. With KL Rahul ruled out, Sarfaraz will once again get the chance. The team management can also give a longer rope to Rajat Patidar, who was unlucky in the first two Tests of his career.
With skipper Rohit Sharma praising young stumper Dhruv Jorel, who also made his debut in Rajkot, he also looks a certainty in the playing XI and KS Bharat will continue to warm the benches. England on the other hand would be keen to forget the hammering they got in Rajkot and start afresh in Ranchi.
England batters have let them down big time and all of them need to pull up their socks and face the Indian attack with gusto. O Pope will have to take inspiration from his knock in Hyderabad and once again be among the runs. Seasoned Joe Root will also need to prove his mettle and so skipper Ben Stokes. If England have to level the series, their batters will have to put runs on the Board.
England spinners will also need to bowl in tandem to contain the Indian batters. Skipper Ben Stokes 100th Test did not go his way, it remains to be seen how he infuses new energy into the Group. While India will be looking to seal the series before heading to Dharamshala, England will be more than keen to make it 2-2.
Match starts at 9.30 AM
Playing XI of England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir
Indian's Updated Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
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