India vs England 2021, 3rd Test- India’s Predicted Playing XI

India and England will square up against each other in the third Test at Headingly Cricket Ground, starting from 25th August 2021. The Indian Cricket Team have been exceptional in all the department thus far in the series. They were brilliant in the first Test and could have won the Test, had rain not played spoilsport on the final day. However, nothing came in support of England in the second Test as the Men in Blue defeated them by 151 runs.

India batted first in the second Test and notched 364 runs in the first innings, thanks to a scintillating 129 from KL Rahul. Joe Root played another mesmerizing century in the Test to keep England in the game. He scored 180 off 321 balls and helped England take a 27-run lead. England bowlers bowled a lot better in India’s second innings and sent the top three early.

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara led the recovery and put on a hundred run-stand. The duo, however, went back to Pavillion in quick succession as India were on the backfoot after the end of day 4. England looked to get the tail out as quickly as they can early in the fifth day, however, M Shami and Bumrah had other plans. The duo added 89 runs for the ninth wicket to extend the lead to 271 runs.

Indian bowlers came out firing in the final two sessions and bundled England out for just 120 runs to win the game by 151 runs.

India vs England 2021, 3rd Test- India’s predicted playing XI

1. KL Rahul

Ahead of the start of the series, KL Rahul couldn’t have thought of opening for India in both the Tests. However, as fate would have it, he got the opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands. KL Rahul played with utmost grace and ensured India got off to great starts in both games. He is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the series, scoring 244 runs in 2 games at an average of 61.