England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first in the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, Manchester, and now a high-stakes encounter is set up to be played in the ongoing series of five matches. A special significance is attributed to this encounter because India is already in a two-to-one losing position and which it would want to rectify. Another thing that will be etched in history is the Test debut by young pacer Anshul Kamboj as he represents India in the contest. Karun Nair has, however, not been selected in this all-important match.
Weather conditions are also likely to be one of the main stars of the show as the high clouds hover over Manchester, and on the opening day, the weather forecast is bad. This provides an unpredictable factor to a series that is already characterised by exciting twists and nail-biting finishes, among them being the enthralling 22-run win by England in the last Test match, which it was able to squeak past at Lordís. The intensity of sledging in that game was especially hot with a lot of banter thrown around even between Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley.
The bowling attack of India is also likely to benefit from the presence of Jasprit Bumrah, who has already been confirmed by Mohammed Siraj during the pre-match brief. The addition of Bumrah is a major boost in a match that the guests have to win. Meanwhile, India will miss the services of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh in the playing XI because of injuries, whereas Sai Sudharsan is likely to get a spot in the playing XI.
In England, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson returns to the Test fold after a gap of eight years as a replacement for Shoaib Bashir, who is out of the series. Both teams enter this game with a fresh mind and body after having a gap of eight days and with a frank determination. The battle at Old Trafford is going to be high drama with both teams trying to lay claims and stake their claim at what has been an exciting series so far.
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