Ian Chappell warns team India ahead of the 3rd Test vs England

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has fired a timely warning to Team India as they gear up to take on England in the third match of the ongoing five-match IND vs ENG 2024 series.

The series is currently locked at 1-1. England stunned the hosts by winning the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs. The visitors were firmly on the back foot after the first innings as India took a big lead of 190 runs. However, they made a stunning comeback and went on to register a famous win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

India bounced back in the second Test and won it by 106 runs to draw level in the series. However, the hosts were not impressive as England did get several opportunities to assert their authority on the proceedings. In the end, the tourists were all out for 292 while chasing 399.

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Ian Chappell’s warning for India:

With the momentum on their side, Team India will be looking to make the most of it in the forthcoming third Test. And ahead of the crucial game, Ian Chappell has said that while the Rohit Sharma-led side should win the series, it has a real battle on its hands. Ian Chappell stated that the current England team led by Ben Stokes is different than the one that lost 1-3 in the 2020/21 season.

“As the home side India should eventually win a tough series, but it has a real battle on their hands. England under the aggressive leadership of Stokes are a far cry from the poorly captained Joe Root team that capitulated against spin on their last tour of the country,” Ian Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.

England have not lost a Test series since Stokes took charge of the team in 2022. On the other hand, India have not lost a series at home since the 1-2 loss against England way back in the 2012/13 season. Meanwhile, India have announced their squad for the last three Tests of the series.

The hosts have suffered a huge blow as Virat Kohli won’t be available for the last three Tests as well. The selectors have also dropped Shreyas Iyer who has failed to impress with the bat in recent times. India are expected to be boosted by the return of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul who missed the second Test due to injuries.

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