After a historic win, Team India is all set to take on England for the third Test match. The much-anticipated match is scheduled to be played at the Lord`s Cricket Ground from July 10, and the home team will be looking to get back to winning ways.
So far in the two recently concluded Test matches against India, former captain Joe Root, skipper Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley, known for their match-winning capabilities, are the players who are unable to deliver match-winning performances.
Skipper Ben Stokes, who has been labelled as the current top all-rounder, has been struggling to deliver performances against a young Team India. With the bat, the left-hander has not been able to score many runs, and with the ball, he has not yet bowled to his full potential.
The skipper has been taking the right decisions during the matches, but has been struggling to stand tall in the individual category.
Joe Root, who was enjoying his rich vein of form before the India series, has been a shadow in the two Tests except for his display in the opener. So far, he has managed to score just one fifty, which came in the first Test. Facing 84 balls, Root stayed unbeaten on 53 runs, including six boundaries in the second innings of the series opener.
England will heavily rely on Root to make match-winning contributions in the upcoming Test match at Lord`s Cricket Ground.
Zak Crawley`s case has been no different to that of Root. With just one half-century, Crawley`s India Test series has been filled with a string of low scores so far.
While these players are struggling to deliver performances, Jamie Smith has been the only consistent player from the hosts` dugout. Coming to bat in the lower middle-order, the right-handed batsman has registered the scores of 40, 44, an unbeaten 184 and 88 runs in four innings respectively.
The Lord`s clash awaits England`s three struggling lions to prove their worth in the team. On the other hand, Team India has bounced back in the second Test match after suffering a loss in the first game. Akash Deep was one of the star players who made the headlines in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian side will receive huge boost with the inclusion of Bumrah for the third Test.
