IND Vs ENG: Every team is a strong whenever they play in their most suited and familiar home conditions. The visiting nation has a challenge to win a series of the red ball and the white ball format against the home side because the hosts know their home conditions quite well than the opposition side.
Like all other teams in this cricketing world, Team India is also a strong side whenever they play at home and that too in all three forms of this gentlemen’s game.
That was the reason why the Men in Blue were the favourites to win the ODI World Cup 2023 as well just like they did in the 2011 edition. But it was Australia who outplayed the home side and won that ICC mega event of the fifty overs format.
Before the first red ball game of the five-match series of the Test matches between IND Vs ENG which will start from Thursday, 25th January 2024 at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad's Uppal, let us know against which team India lost their last home series of the red ball format –
England will again tour India after they had come here in 2021, Joe Root captained that side and now the visitors are in a different ball game altogether.
Their BAZBALL style of play has paid them the rewards till now. England won their maiden red ball series in Pakistan and also drew the Ashes series.
However, Ben Stokes and Co will be challenged in the spin-friendly conditions of India because the home side has quality pacers and spin bowlers as well and they might put a break on their attacking batting style, which is known as the BAZBALL style.
One thing which England will lack is their infectiveness with the spin. The over-attacking approach with the bat in hand will not only work for them.
With their fast bowlers, England will also need their spinners to do the job in these five games of the red ball format. Jack Leach will have to bowl a lot of overs as he will be the lead spinner in this whole series.
Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley will be the other spin bowlers for the visitors.
It was England who did the unthinkable on their 2012 and 2013 tour to India. The English men defeated the Men in Blue in a red ball series at home and that Test series loss was the last one for India.
England played that whole series under Alastair Cook and Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain of Team India in that series.
The red ball series loss at home against England and the whitewashes on the tours of England and Australia was the only downfall of Mahi Bhai’s captaincy stint.
England lost the first Test match in Ahmedabad, where the first match was played, by nine wickets.
But the visitors, England bounced back brilliantly as they won the 2nd and the 3rd Test match which were played in Mumbai and Kolkata quite comprehensively.
The final game of this red ball series in Nagpur was drawn. So England won the series by a margin of 2-1 despite being 0-1 down.
Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar were star with the ball for the visitors. Swann picked up 20 wickets and Panesar got 17 scalps to his name. Alastair Cook who was the skipper of that series led his country from the front.
He was the highest run-getter for England in that red ball series. Cook scored 562 runs with three centuries.
