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Alastair Cook (Image Credit: Twitter)
An England-India series is one of the most high profile battles in world cricket at the moment. India got better of Joe Root’s men at home but can they repeat the feat against the same opposition in their home den? Well, India doesn’t have a record to boast about in England but they have a team that is good enough to give the best teams a run for their money. The last time India toured England, they were humbled 4-1. However, the scoreline doesn’t reflect how evenly the series was fought. Let us look at what experts have to say about the Test series.
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Alastair Cook
Former England skipper Alastair Cook has backed England to beat India 3-1. Cook feels that India’s batting look vulnerable against the swinging ball.
“I would be more confident with Ben Stokes in the England side, so that changes it a lot. But with India being on tour and in the bubble situation for so long - they arrived in early June for the World Test Championship final - they will find it quite hard. Given the moving ball, England will always fancy their chances against this India batting line-up. I think England will score just enough runs and win the series, with one of the Tests heavily affected by rain”.
Prediction: England 3-1 India.
Michael Vaughan
Another England skipper Michael Vaughan has even out the things by backing India to win the series. Vaughan reckons the loss of players like Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes is going to hurt England. He added that India is a powerhouse team with quality batters and bowlers and should prevail in the series.
“I don't like saying this, but India have got the best chance that they will ever have of winning in the UK. There's no Ben Stokes, no Jofra Archer and no Chris Woakes to start. England's Test team has been, if not in turmoil, then a little stop-start for the past year or so. And after the series defeat by New Zealand there are a lot of players under pressure. India have got a powerhouse of a batting line-up, an incredible bowling line-up with all the variations.”
Prediction: England 1-3 India.
Mark Ramprakash
Former England batsman and batting coach Mark Ramprakash highlighted the inexperience in England’s top order and said the team is over reliant on Joe Root, meanwhile backing India to win the series.
“England's batting looks brittle - they struggle to make big runs consistently - and there is a lack of experience at the top of the order, with the exception of captain Joe Root. India have proved they are a top-class side, particularly with that amazing come-from-behind series win in Australia last winter. Can they also win in England? They are certainly highly motivated. England are clearly concerned more with one-day cricket at the moment - their players have very little first-class cricket since that New Zealand series defeat in June - so my money is on India”.
Prediction: England 1-2 India.
Phil Tufnell
Phil Tufnell, former England spinner believes that England will struggle in the series. However, he backed them to escape the series defeat.
"I'm really looking forward to this series because there will be some great players on show.I think there's going to be a bit of an edge to this series - I can just feel it. England are going to struggle but I'm still going to back them to avoid defeat."
Prediction: England 2-2 India.