England vs India 2018, 5th Test: Kennington Oval - England Predicted XI

England led by Joe Root already pocked the five-match Test series against India and will be looking to make it 4-1 when the two teams meet each other in the fifth and the final Test slated to kick off at the Kennington Oval on Thursday. England batters have not performed to the expectations. However, their bowlers have given themselves an unassailable 3-1 lead with a match still to go. We’ve named England predicted XI for the dead rubber.

The top order will look to get back among the runs in the final Test. It will be an emotional moment for veteran Alastair Cook, who will be playing his farewell Test. The southpaw announced his retirement from Test cricket a couple of days ago.

Meanwhile, England might be tempted to make a few changes for the dead rubber. There are possibilities that leg-spinner Adil Rashid might be dropped given his below-par performances in the series so far.

All-rounder Ben Stokes, who had an injured knee which prevented his bowling in the fourth Test might be rested as well.

Now, without wasting any time let us have a look at England Predicted XI for the Kennington Oval Test:

Openers

Alastair Cook:

The southpaw is all set to play the final Test match of his international career. He has been short of runs in the recent past and has not looked comfortable in the middle what so ever.

Cook has been troubled by the Indian bowlers on a consistent basis. Despite doing the hard yard, Cook has not managed to score a half-century in the series so far. However, he will certainly look to finish his career on a high with a good knock at the Oval.

Keaton Jennings:

Cook’s partner has also been short of runs. He played a good knock of 36 in the previous Southampton Test.

However, it wasn’t enough to confirm that he was back in touch. Jennings has been troubled by the moving delivery. He has not taken his feet towards the line of the ball, and the Indian bowlers have got the better of him throughout the series.

Middle order:

Moeen Ali:

Off-spinner Moeen Ali was awarded the Player of the Match Award in the Ageas Bowl Test for his terrific all-round performance.

Moeen, who was making a comeback scored a fluent 40 to take England’s score to 246 in the first innings. With the ball in hand, Moeen bagged a five-wicket haul in the same innings and followed it up with another match-winning performance in the second innings with a four-wicket haul.

Joe Root:

The English skipper Joe Root has looked nowhere close to his usual self in the series so far. He scored a brilliant 80 in the Edgbaston Test.

However, his performances have gone down considerably since then. He did manage to score a fluent 48 in the Southampton Test.

However yet again he was run out after a loss in concentration. Meanwhile, he also led his troops well and used Moeen Ali quite brilliantly.

Ollie Pope:

The youngster who missed the fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton is expected to make a comeback in place of Adil Rashid in case England decides to go with an extra batsman. He looked in good touch during the two tests he played. However, he failed to convert his starts into a big one.

Going down the order might be the perfect opportunity for him to settle his career.

Lower Middle-order and wicket-keeper:

Jonny Bairstow:

He might not don the wicket-keeping gloves in the final Test, but he might get to bat at his preferred position lower down the order. He has been quite disappointed with some of his shot selection.

In the last match against India, he was beaten all ends up by a brilliant delivery from Mohammed Shami. However, his technical aspect came into question. It remains to be seen how Bairstow responds to his critics in the final match.

Jos Buttler:

The wicketkeeper-batsman is the second leading run scorer in the series so far behind Team India skipper Virat Kohli. He scored a magnificent century at Trent Bridge which delayed England’s loss.

In the fourth Test too, he played a brilliant knock of 69 runs which allowed England to set India a tricky target to chase in the fourth innings. He was quite competent behind the stumps in the previous Test.

Fast bowlers:

Sam Curran:

Sam Curran, the all-rounder, has been a thorn in the flesh for the visiting team. Curran has been exceptional in the series so far. He played a match-winning impact in the first Test in Edgbaston.

After being dropped from the third Test, he came back strongly and made yet another match-winning contribution for England. His knock of 78 was arguably the most crucial innings of the game as far as England team is concerned.

Chris Woakes:

If Chris Woakes has recuperated from the injury, he will be a part of the playing XI especially due to the injury sustained by Ben Stokes.

Bowling all-rounder Woakes made a match-winning impact for England in the Lord’s Test. He scored a brilliant century and also got some crucial wickets in the Trent Bridge Test.

In all likelihood, Woakes will be a part of the playing Xi of England for the fifth Test.

Stuart Broad:

Stuart Broad has been quite superb in the series so far. However, fatigue was expected to catch up with the two veteran pacers. But they are raring to go and have performed quite admirably in the series.

Broad and James Anderson have complemented each other very well and has always been in the wickets column. They have gone about doing their job in an unfazed manner.

James Anderson:

Pace spearhead James Anderson is one of the finest bowlers England has seen. Anderson has not managed to bag the prized wicket of Virat Kohli in the series so far. He was dropped on a few occasions which eluded Anderson from getting the wicket.

However, he has been quite impressive. Anderson was the pick of the bowlers in helpful conditions at Lord’s as England thrashed India by an innings and 159 runs. He could be as lethal in the Kennington Oval Test as well.