India are in a position where they cannot lose the series against England, no matter what happens in the remaining two Test matches. That opens up an opportunity for India to go on the attack, take some risks and try and get the series dead and buried by the fourth Test match in Mumbai.
Virat Kohli has always been someone who likes to go on the attack, even if his captaincy has shades of conservatism in it, and this really is the perfect chance for India to make sure they go for the proverbial jugular and leave England with no chance of drawing level in this series.
So far, after coming through a tense final day of the first Test, India have played outstanding cricket – be that with the ball or bat. Even with wickets being hardly conducive to spin or fast bowling, the India bowlers have found a way to dismiss the long England batting lineup, with patience, planning and perseverance.
That deserves a lot more plaudits than India have been getting. The fact that R Ashwin has not been the dominant bowler in this series is a great sign for India, because it means there are other bowlers that have stepped up when Kohli has needed wickets.
Jayant Yadav has looked at home in Test match cricket, Ravindra Jadeja has provided the control Kohli likes so much and Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have been impressive and on the money, be that with the new or old ball. England have shown some naivety in their batting in this series, sometimes gifting their wickets away, but that has also been a result of the pressure the India bowlers have built.
The batting is where there are a few more concerns for India.
Murali Vijay has gone off the boil after a century in the first Test match, with England finding a remarkably simple way of getting the opener out. Parthiv Patel was a stopgap solution at the top, and KL Rahul, if he does come in for this Test match, needs to play more responsibly.
England know, if they get Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli out, they are in with a chance of restricting India to a low score, especially with Ajinkya Rahane struggling for form, and finding it difficult to play the spinners.
India have been bailed out by the lower order, and while a strong lineup through the entire XI is great for the team, the specialist batsmen need to step up more, rather than relying on their all-rounders to put on rescue acts time and again. If they manage to do that, no matter what the nature of the pitch at the Wankhede, India will be a difficult team to stop.
India vs England: 4th Test match schedule.
Date: Thursday, December 8 to Monday, December 12.
Time: 9.30am IST, 4am GMT, 11pm ET previous day start.
Session timings (all IST): First session: 9.30am to 11.30am. Lunch: 11.30am to 12.10pm. Second session: 12.10pm to 2.10pm. Tea: 2.10pm to 2.30pm. Third session: 2.30pm to 4.30pm (can be extended by half an hour to get the 90 overs in).
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
TV guide: India: Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3. UK: Sky Sports 2. Australia: Fox Sports 5. New Zealand: Sky Sport 3. Singapore and South East Asia: Star Cricket. USA and Canada: Willow TV. Middle East: OSN Sports Cricket HD. South Africa: SuperSport 2.
