The Test series between England and India has been an exciting one to date and the aciton continues on Wedensday night as they head to Leeds for the 3rd Test beginning on Wednesday night. Check out our full preview and betting tips for the action below.
England vs India 3rd Test Betting Tips
Leeds, August 25th, 8.00pm (AEST)
It was a fantastic result for BYB and followers in the 2nd Test as we hit on India to win at odds of $2.37. We'll be hunting another winner as the 3rd Test kicks off from Leeds on Wednesday ngiht from 8.00pm.
England Squad
Joe Root (C), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood
The top order remains the issue for England. Rory Burns scored 49 in the first innings of the 2nd Test, but that's about all that can be said for their top three. Burns, Dom Sibley and Hasseb Hameed combined for just nine runs in the 2nd innings, begging the question as to whether there will be more changes in the English top three.
The English side has opted to play four seamers and a spinner in both of the two games so far, but they could opt for more batting depth as playing Sam Curran at No.7 hasn't worked after the all-rounder was dismissed for a golden pair at Lord's.
India Squad
Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Ravi Ashwin, Jasprit Bumra, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ravi Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur, Hanuma Vihari, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav
Hard to invision India making a change to their top seven heading into the 3rd Test. Rahul and Sharma have been great at the top of the order while Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pant and Jadeja look settled in the top-middle order.
Where the changes might come for hte Indian side is within their pace bowling ranks. Bumrah, Shami and Siraj have played both games while Ishant Sharma and Shardul Thakur have played one game each as the fourth paceman. Umesh Yadav is still waiting in the wings and could ge ta call up if any of their pace bowlers need to be rested.
Match Preview
It was a brilliant win for the Indian squad at Lord's, set up by a fantastic century by KL Rahul in the first innings and some quality fast bowling in both of their fielding innings. Their batting line-up looks incredibly strong at the moment despite star trio of Pujara, Kohli and Rahane having only passed 50 once between them this series. Rahul and Sharma seem to be the opening combination that they have been hunting for years while Pant and Jadeja at six and seven often turn slighty below par scores into really compettive scores with quickfire 30-40s.
India hasn't been extremely successful playing in England in the past, but they have rarely had a fast bowling unit as capable as the one they possess at the moment. Quality seam bowling is the key to success with the swinging Duke ball in English conditions, and the like of Bumrah, Shami and Siraj have been absolutely brilliant through the opening two Tests.
Luckily, it looks as though the weather wont be a factor in this Test, so we should get five days of uninteruppted play from Leeds. I think the team batting first will have a bit of an advantage, but given the troubles their top order has had of late, it's hard to like England much at the moment.
India have looked the better side throughout the two Tests so far and that's without getting much out of Kohli and Rahane. Barring a surprise return from Ben Stokes to strengthen the English batting lineup, I think backing India is the obvious choice here.
