Ben Stokes will play his 100th Test in Rajkot as England look to bounce back following defeat in the second Test. The England captain will become the 15th man to reach the feat with his current teammate James Anderson top of the list on 184 matches.
Speaking to the BBC, Stokes said: “Every Test is just as important as the next one, then there’s the next one, which will be 101 – it’s just one more.
“It’s a sign of longevity, but 99, 100 or 101 doesn’t make much difference.”
Embed from Getty ImagesBen Stokes made his Test debut in 2013 against Australia in Adelaide. He has gone on to have one of the most memorable and successful England cricketing careers. Averaging close to 37 with the bat and just over 32 with the ball in Tests.
He has given England many great moments in the longest format. But none more so than his heroics in Leeds against Australia in 2019. Playing one of the great innings to marshal England to victory – admirably supported by Jack Leach and his glasses cloth.
Embed from Getty ImagesEarlier this week it was confirmed that Leach will take no further part in the series. This is due to the knee injury which ruled him out of the second Test.
England have made one change to the side that lost in Vizag. With Mark Wood’s addition giving Stokes another seamer to call upon at the expense of Shoaib Bashir.
Embed from Getty ImagesBen Stokes has been pictured bowling. But confirmed this is only part of his rehabilitation programme. He will not be an option in any part of the series.
Rehan Ahmed, who faced visa issues while returning to India from Abu Dhabi. This is where England had been resting between Tests, has now resolved those issues. As a result, he will play for the third consecutive time in the series.
India will be without Virat Kohli, who is missing the entire series due to undisclosed personal reasons, and KL Rahul who has been unable to recover from a groin injury in time.
Shreyas Iyer has been dropped from the squad after failing to register a half-century in his last 13 innings, meaning one of Sarfaraz Khan or Devdutt Padikkal will debut in the middle order alongside Rajat Patidar, who played his first Test in Vizag. A major boost to India will be the return of local Rajkot hero Ravindra Jadeja, who has declared himself fit, after missing the second Test through injury.
Embed from Getty ImagesJadeja took five wickets in the first Test and scored 89 runs and will hope to give India some stability in the middle order and control with the ball.
The last time India and England faced off in Rajkot during the 2016/17 Test series, the match ended in a draw. England posted a formidable total of 537 runs in their first innings, largely due to a century from Ben Stokes.
However, India’s captain Virat Kohli and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin held firm on the final day, preventing England from securing victory by successfully blocking out the remaining overs.
England fell short of claiming the final four wickets needed for a win.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe pitch, which is traditionally flat, looks to have some grass left on it a day out, with India’s premier spinner – Ashwin – hoping to take his 500th wicket in the match, needing just one to join the elusive club.
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