Published 19:16 IST, February 1st 2021
Gautam Gambhir makes bold prediction for upcoming India-England Test series
Former opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has come up with his prediction for the upcoming India-England Test series that gets underway this Friday i.e. February 5
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir does not see the visiting England team winning any Test in the upcoming four-match series with the kind of spin attack it has.
England have named the likes of Moeen Ali, Dom Bess, and Jack Leach as spinners in their squad. While Ali is an experienced campaigner with 181 wickets from 60 Tests, Bess and Leach have played 12 Tests each, taking 31 and 44 wickets respectively.
'Probably...': Gautam Gambhir
"I don’t see England winning any of the Test matches with the kind of spin attack they’ve got,” 39-year-old Gambhir was quoted as saying in Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.
"It has to be 3-0 India or probably 3-1. I’m only going to give a Pink Ball Test match, probably 50-50 to England just from the conditions point of view."
Both teams look to continue their splendid run in the longest format
Both teams head into this series after having registered away Test wins. While Team India created history with a 2-1 win at the Gabba to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia a couple of weeks ago, England handed a 2-0 whitewash to Sri Lanka in their own backyard last week.
The elegant number three batsman Joe Root will be leading England in the four-match Test series that gets underway at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium on February 5 while Virat Kohli will be back on the cricket field after more than a month. He had returned to India after the Adelaide Test match against Australia in mid-December on paternity leave.
Meanwhile, the visitors would be hoping to repeat the heroics of the 2012/13 season where they had registered a 2-1 win in (four-match series) under the leadership of former iconic opener Alastair Cook. That remains England's last Test series win on Indian soil to date.
Kohli on the other hand looks to lead India to a second straight Test series win against England on home soil. At the same time, the four-match Test series will also constitute a major part of the ongoing inaugural ICC World Test Championship.
(With PTI Inputs)
Updated 19:16 IST, February 1st 2021