The middle-order muddle!

Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin (Pic: AFP)

Ruthlessness have to be in equal measure with tactical acumen while dealing with an unpredictable England when a riveting India vs England 3^rd Test series begins on Thursday. After England shocked India in the series opener at Hyderabad, the hosts came back strong in Vizag to get on level footing, leaving the five-match series perfectly poised.

The brilliance of Yashasvi Jaiswal (321 runs) and Jasprit Bumrah (15) allowed India to make a comeback in the series but concerns remain over a misfiring middle-order, which will now be relying on the young talent to deliver the goods.

Skipper Rohit Sharma's form with the bat before the eight-day break only added to the growing concern surrounding the Indian batting, which will be without K L Rahul in this game and Virat Kohli for the entirety of the series. Over the last one year or so, Rohit's aggressive approach with the bat has not yielded him big scores and the current situation demands the Indian skipper to perhaps contemplate changing gears.

Rahul's unavailability for the third Test has put forth the possibility of Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan getting his long awaited debut in the longest format. The domestic run machine could be teaming up with one-Test old Rajat Patidar to occupy two of the most coveted batting spots in the middle order.

India's glaring inexperience in the middle-order would have been well noted by the English camp, whose robust research on opponents and aggressive play has time and again delivered results.

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Wicketkeeper KS Bharat's persistent failures with the bat has raised the possibility of India turning to Uttar Pradesh's 23-year-old Dhruv Jurel, who is known for his aggressive batting.

With an average of 46.47 in 15 First-Class matches, Jurel has given a fine account of himself. With the pitch here at Rajkot not expected to be a rank turner, a debut here would only help Jurel ease into the world of top flight cricket.

With local hero Cheteshwar Pujara no more in the plans of the selectors, there will be a high anticipation from the local hero Ravindra Jadeja to get back into the ring and deliver for India, whose spinners were outmatched by England in the first two Tests.

Numbers tell only one side of the story and India's think tank will not be overly concerned with how their spinners have averaged collectively (38.39) compared to England's (33.90). Unlike in the past where spinners would rule the roost and fast bowling reduced to mere formalities, this series has witnessed a stunning turnaround which has, fortunately for India, coincided with Bumrah being at his absolute best.

On the cusp of his 100th Test, Ben Stokes would like to look back at the fine 128 here he made at the SCA stadium in the drawn Test of the 2016 tour. His leadership has been inspiring thus far in the series and one can expect more bold calls from him over the course of the next five days.

India vs England 3^rd Test series: Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal.

England: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Shoaib Bashir, Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.

(With agency inputs)