ENG vs IND: Aakash Chopra makes bold predictions about Oval Test

After being put on the mat by England, will India be able to bounce back in the fourth Test at The Oval? It’s a question that must be running in the minds of every Indian. The series is evenly poised at 1-1 and the winner of this game will take an unassailable lead in the series. More so, India does not have a record to boast about at this venue. However, cricket expert Aakash Chopra feels that the Virat Kohli-led side will come out on top against England. Chopra, in a video shared on his YouTube channel, backed India to win the match.

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"I am going with India to win this Test match. Yes, I am saying India will win."

The former cricketer then made some bold predictions about the match. Chopra said the captain that wins the toss should opt to bat first as chasing total won’t be easy at the venue.

"The team that wins the toss will want to bat first. Batting is not a bad idea, that's for India. England, you should have batted first at Lord's because batting does not happen at the end, you get all out in fifty overs."

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In the three matches of the series, India have batted first twice, winning at Lords and suffering a crushing defeat in Headingley. However, the surface at Oval will assist the spinner thus batting fourth can be tricky. Chopra backed the inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin in the team and said spinners will take more than six wickets in the match.

"In this five-day Test match, if it lasts for five days, spinners will take more than 6 wickets. Who will be the spinners - Moeen Ali, Ashwin, Jadeja or someone else?"

"A lot of runs will be scored in the second session of each day at the Oval ground. In the middle overs, old ball, flat pitch, slightly more spin - that's the time to score."

It will be interesting to see what combination India opts to go in with. There are talks about India including Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur in place of Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.