by An in the form of India will continue your search for only a fourth series win in England when the third test at Lords begins on Thursday.
India rated this five-game campaign 1-1 with a 336-run route from England in the second test of last week at Edgbaston.
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AFP Sport deals with several important topics before it promises a fascinating encounter:
Will Gill still run turmoil?
Shubman Gill has had a breathtaking start to his reign as Captain in India with remarkable 585 runs in his first two tests as a skipper after replacing the retired rawit Sharma.
In Edgbaston, the admirably composed and elegant Gill was the first striker in the test cricket, which in the same game was the first striker in the test cricket, thanks to the innings of 269 and 161.
Gill was so productive, he was now able to threaten the Australia record of Donald Bradman in a single series of tests after the 25-year-old scored five Wicket in the five-wing defeat of India at the start in Headingley 147.
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“If you are due, you have to give your opposition credits, and so that he leaves as many runs as he did in this game, was something very special,” said English captain Ben Stokes.
An encouraging thought of Stokes when he thought about how to defeat Gill is that Bradmans Mark has been for 95 years.
Many strikers have put the bladder formation, only so that the runs can dry out later.
The South African Graeme Smith began his captain’s rule with two hundreds in England, in Edgbaston and Lords, 2003.
In the remaining three tests of this series, however, he led only 93 other runs.
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Can Archer revive England’s flagging attack?
It has been over four years ago that the fast bowler Jofra Archer last played a test, but the injured Express Quick now seems to be returning to Lord’s, where he marked his debut in 2019 by pile by Australia’s Steve Smith with a fearsome bouncer.
Doubt as to whether Archer can be the bowler who he was once after such a long discharge.
But English trainer Brendon McCullum said: “He obviously went through his injuries and his time outside the test cricket, but we all know what he can achieve, and we hope that if the opportunity comes for him, he can recapture and improve what he could already do.”
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Archer from its best side would certainly give England an urgently needed cut.
So far, Chris Woakes has only taken three gates in this series in an extremely expensive average of almost 97, even though he received the new ball.
England Great Geoffrey Boycott suggested that the 36-year-old was now “past his date”, but all-round Woakes has a good balance and a stroke of 42.50 at Lord’s with 32 gates in seven tests with a miseristic average of 12.90.
Bumrah returns
Akash Deep turned out to be more capable of 10-wicket transport in Birmingham-a Return, which certainly keeps it-but it is difficult to see how India can be anything but stronger with a refreshing Jasprit Bumrah.
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“He (Bumrah) jogged in, you will think ‘that will be 70 miles per hour’ and it will hit you at 90 a.m.,” said former English Paceman Stuart Broad to his podcast ‘for the love of cricket’.
Overseas players are increasing their game at Lord’s often and Bumrah is probably no exception, since the 31-year-old Fast Bowler gets a coveted place in the distinction of the changing room for the first time in his career.
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