The third Test between India and England is scheduled to be commencing at the humongous Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad from Wednesday. After two witnessing nerve-wrenching Test matches in Chennai, the action moves over to the all-new Motera Stadium. The Indian team, who churned out a brilliant performance in the second Test, will hope to get another win and inch closer to a place in the World Test Championship final.
With the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav expected to return to the playing XI, the Indians will fancy their chances. But there is more to this Test. The pink ball adds another element of twists to this game. With more experience of playing with the pink ball, the English will also be fancying their chances.
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Although they would have to make do without Moeen Ali, England welcome back James Anderson and Jofra Archer into the playing XI. While home conditions will favor the hosts, the pink ball levels the playing field and evens out the odds, much to the English fans’ delight. Either way, we should be in for a cracking curtain-raiser at the Sardar Patel Stadium.
Here are some fantasy XI predictions for the game:
Wicket-Keepers
Rishabh Pant seems to be a better pick as he has been known for making a strong comeback and he will be much more effective on pitches in Ahmedabad. However, for England, Ben Foakes will be keeping the wickets as he is known for playing match-winning knocks, but in order to maintain the balance of the Fantasy XI, Pant seems the better pick.
Batsmen
Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Joe Root, and Dom Sibley have always been the prime contenders for fantasy cricket. Even, Rohit Sharma also is added in fantasy cricket and that will depend on the balance of the squad. Apart from them, there are some useful batsmen in the line-ups as well, like Shubman Gill, and Rory Burns.
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All-rounder
There are some really reliable all-rounders in both teams but citing the pitch in Ahmedabad, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Ben Stokes seems to be the perfect fit. Apart from them, the good all-rounder for fantasy cricket is Hardik Pandya.
Bowlers
Both the teams don’t have decent bowling line-ups but they don’t have practiced a lot. Bowlers like James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ishan Shamra, and Jasprit Bumrah become the obvious choices for the Fantasy XI on the dusty track at the Motera Staidum. Apart from them, some crucial bowlers can be like, Jasprit Bumrah, Stuart Broad, and Jack Leach.
Fantasy Suggestion #1: Rishabh Pant, Joe Root, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill (c), Rory Burns, Ben Stokes, Ravi Ashwin, Stuart Broad (vc), Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishant Sharma
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Rishabh Pant, Joe Root, Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes (vc), Ravi Ashwin, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah (c), and Ishant Sharma
