Indian cricket team will look to extend their form, taking advantage of their brilliant momentum, to take a lead for the first time in the ongoing Test series.

India-England could be counted as one of the oldest rivalries in cricket given the fact that they have played each other a whopping 124 times. Though England hold the upper hand in head-to-head stats with 48 wins to India's 27, the Men in Blue have stopped the dominance to a large extent since 2000.

Since the turn of the millennium, India have faced England 40 times, with India winning 13 times to England's 16. However, having beaten England in the last match by a mammoth 317 runs, Virat Kohli and Co. will be confident about taking on England in a day-night Test, a format where England have struggled to find form.

India and England D/N test matches
India Metrics England
2 Matches 3
1 Wins 1
0 Draws 0
1 Losses 1
50% Win Percentage 33.33%

Both India and England have posed a strong first-innings total in home and away matches, respectively. Batting at home first, India have averaged a first-innings total of 400.6 in the last five Test matches, whereas England average 375.4 in the same number of matches away from home.

Hence, winning the toss might play a crucial role for each side, and India could be in a disadvantageous position here. India have lost four out of their last five Test match tosses, while England have lost only three tosses in the same number of matches.

While the uncertainty about the pitch at the new Motera Stadium has been the talk of the town, the older matches in Motera have seen a decent first innings score.

Average first innings score in last 5 Test matches in Motera
Teams Runs Opposition Date
India 521 England November 15, 2012
India 487 New Zealand November 10, 2010
India 426 Sri Lanka November 16, 2009
India 76 South Africa April 3, 2008
India 398 Sri Lanka December 18, 2005

However, as Ben Stokes has recently stated, regardless of the conditions, it will always be the individual who will make a difference in Test matches. And both India and England have been blessed with some of the best Test cricket talents.

India highest-scorers in last 5 home Test matches
Players Matches Innings Runs Highest Average 100 50 50+
Rohit Sharma 5 7 444 212 63.42 2 0 2
Ajinkya Rahane 5 7 330 115 47.14 1 3 4
Virat Kohli 5 7 293 136 41.85 1 2 3
Mayank Agarwal 3 3 267 243 89 1 0 1

 

England highest-scorers in last 5 away Test matches
Players Matches Innings Runs Highest Average 100 50 50+
Joe Root 6 11 867 228 78.81 3 2 5
Dom Sibley 6 11 308 87 30.8 0 2 2
Ollie Pope 4 7 298 135* 49.66 1 1 2
Ben Stokes 4 7 265 120 37.85 1 1 2

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Patrick Hamilton