If you had offered England fans -and I suspect, the touring team – a 1-1 scoreline coming into the day/night game at Ahmedabad they would have bitten your hand off without a second’s hesitation. The manner of the second test defeat sent everyone tumbling resoundingly back down to earth but the pure fact that England are not down and out of the series yet is a testament to their performance.
James Anderson was rested for the second test and I cannot see any way he misses the third test under the lights.
The pink ball will be England’s best hope of getting out of this series with a draw and England will need their version of the sultan of swing to get the best out of it.
Whilst a day/nighter in India cannot quite be equated with an overcast Thursday Morning in Leeds, England will still be wary of the greater emphasis for seam.
The pink ball will move a lot more than the red one has so far but I highly doubt that India would prepare a pitch that played right into the English seam bowler’s hands, thus laying the groundwork for a Wasim Jaffer open goal of a meme.
The real question surrounds whether England pick two spinners (with Dom Bess returning) or fit in an extra seamer to take advantage of the ball.
This is a difficult question because so far Ben Stokes has hardly bowled in this series, so if the conditions suit the quicks, the two specialists may be left with a lot of work to do.
If Anderson is a shoo in the other seam bowling slot(s) are less certain.
Olly Stone was fantastic in the second test, consistently rapid, with impressive movement even with the old ball, it would be intriguing to see him run in under lights in Ahmedabad.
Whether England want to risk playing their fastest bowler for the second game in a row is another question however
Chris Woakes has sat in a bubble since January and thus far not played a game and it would be a farce if he were to not get a game before the tour is done. The surface and conditions that will best suit his style will be in Ahmedabad with the pink ball and his added all – round capabilities may further his cause in the absence of Moeen.
Stuart Broad had very little to do in Chennai and was ineffective in the short spells he was given but you feel as though this test may be more to his liking. If England do go with a three-man pace attack then it may be a straight-up training shoot-out between Broad and Jofra Archer (assuming the latter is fit to play).
Mark Wood has plenty to offer on more unresponsive surfaces with raw pace and ability to reverse swing the old ball but the day/night Test may not be the most effective use of his skillset, I would keep him fresh for the final test.
Ultimately a lot will rest on first viewing of the pitch next week, it is a brand new surface in a very impressive arena and it is anyone’s guess at present what the pitch is likely to do.
Conversely a more seam friendly pitch may actually suit England’s openers far more than the last pair of turners (nothing wrong with preparing a pitch like the last one by the way stop getting your knickers in a twist).
Dom Sibley has looked pretty good so far and his obduracy at the top has laid a few platforms that the rest of the order subsequently failed to capitalise on. Rory Burns however has been in horrible form ever since Shaheen Afridi had him on toast last summer and looks all at sea once more against Ravi Ashwin.
A change of pace could really suit Burns, with seam bowling more what he has grown accustomed to learning the game in England.
This being said, with Jasprit Bumrah set to return, India have potentially the best fast bowling attack in the world when all fit and firing.
Ultimately this match is difficult to call but England will go into it confident of pulling a result out of the bag, leaving the series nicely set up going into the fourth Test.
Michael Vince on Sport 