We are just a few days away from the test series between India and England. England is traveling to India after four years. Last time England lost the series to India by 4-0.

The only test series that India has lost in the last ten years was against England in 2012-13. India was on a dream run then. The previous defeat came against Australia in 2004-05. From that point, India won 10 out of the 14 series that they played at home. The other four ended in a draw. England defeated India by 2-1, and the streak was over.

Interestingly, India has won every test series after that loss. They have played 12 test series after losing to England in 2012-13 and have won each one of them. It is also a sort of a streak again. It not only shows India’s dominance at home but other teams’ incapableness as well.

Another interesting fact is that India has played 34 test matches after the 2012-13 series against England and lost just one test match. Out of these 34, only five games ended in a draw. India has won 28 test matches out of the last 34. They won a test match an inning’s margin 12 times. England needs to play their A level game in this series else it will be a tough season for them.

But England is the team that won the ODI world cup in 2019. They have built a team that can perform on any given day. And the stakes are pretty high in this series. They honestly can’t afford to lose this series because they have a test championship final at home.

Lord’s will host the final of the test cricket championship. This series will give a prestigious award of ‘best test team in the world.’ In the last article, we discussed England’s chances in the World Test Championship. Click here to read that article.

England defeated Sri Lanka at their home a few days ago. They played some best cricket there. It was their signal to show that they can also be dominant in Asia.

We are trying to look at the players who will play a crucial role in this series.

1. Joe Root

Joe Root is the obvious choice because of the way he has played against Sri Lanka. He scored a double century in the first test and followed it by a century in the second test.

The first test of the series will be the 100th test match of his career. His debut and 50th test also were against India only. He has scored four centuries in test matches against India, and only one of them was while playing in India. Considering his form right now, he is most likely to improve this record.

Much like Virat Kohli, he also could not score a century last year. His last century before the Sri Lankan tour came in November 2019. He found his form at the right time this year.

It will be interesting to watch him play in India after almost four years.

2. Ben Stokes

He is one of the most exciting cricketing prospects in world cricket at this point. He is one of the best all-rounders of all time. He has shown this frequently.

His heroics against Australia in Ashes and the World Cup are a few examples of his brilliant game sense.

He was not there in England’s squad against Sri Lanka. ECB rested him along with Jofra Archer for the Sri Lanka tour. Both of them will look to play some decent cricket against India in this series.

He played in the 2016 series against India, where he managed to score 345 runs at an average of 38.33 in 5 Tests. He also made a century in the very first test of the series. That is his only century against India in India.

He will also be looking to improve his record in this series.

3. Dom Bess

He was the find of the series against Sri Lanka for England. In the very first test, he took a fifer. He took 12 wickets in the two tests against Sri Lanka.

He, along with Jake Leach, will be the backbone of England’s spin attack. England can also go with Moeen Ali in the first test. But that should not happen at the cost of Dom Bess.

The last time England won a series against India, their spinners played a massive role in it.

England will be expecting the same from him as well. He has taken 31 wickets in 12 matches with an economy of 2.80.

There are a few other players in England’s squad who will play a crucial role for England in this series. Two of them are James Anderson and Stuart Broad. It might be the last series for them in India.

James Anderson has played 157 test matches for England till now. If he manages to play the next 4 test matches, he will equal the record of playing the most number of Test matches for England.

Currently, Alastair Cook holds the record for playing the most number of test matches (161) for England.