The first Test of what promises to be an enthralling four-match series between India and England gets underway on Friday.
Joe Root’s men head to Chennai following back-to-back away Test series wins over South Africa and Sri Lanka, but this will be a far bigger test.
It’s eight years since England last won a series in India and they are on offer at 7/1 to come out on top in this four-Test battle, with India 1/4 and a drawn series can be backed at 11/2.
India head into the series full of confidence having secured back-to-back series win in Australia and are 5/12 to win the first Test with England 15/4 to claim an opening victory of the tour.
England Making Steady Progress
The tourists have shown some good signs over the last 12 months as they build towards their primary target of winning the Ashes back on Australia soil at the end of the year.
Despite their recent progress in the Test arena, this series comes too early for England, with question marks still over some of the top-order batsmen and, crucially on Indian pitches, their spin options.
Dom Bess and Jack Leach took 12 and 10 wickets respectively in the two-match series in Galle, but neither really stood out against a team with far less batting strength than India.
England are likely to pick two spinners from Bess, Leach and Moeen Ali, with Moeen offering another option with the bat.
The return of Ben Stokes, who is 6/1 to be England’s Top 1st Innings Bowler in Chennai, and Jofra Archer to the squad looks likely to see the selectors having to choose between experienced seam duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Batsman Need to Stake a Claim
The batting line up is also a poser for the England selectors, with an injury to Zak Crawley ruling him out of the first two Tests.
Crawley opened in Sri Lanka but was expected to drop back to three as a result of the return of Rory Burns, which means England will need to rethink.
Ollie Pope is the most likely replacement to replace Crawley, while Dan Lawrence is also pushing for a place after showing some good signs in the Sri Lanka series.
The pressure is often on captain Root to deliver the goods, but it feels more than ever that England need the Yorkshireman to score big if they are to have a chance of a series win.
After scoring over 400 runs in Sri Lanka, Root is clearly in top form and as England’s best player of spin, will have to spend plenty of time at the crease. Root looks a good bet at 2/1 to be England’s Top 1st Innings Batsman in the first Test, while he’s the 20/21 favourite to finish the series as the tourist’s top run scorer.
India Have Strength in Depth
It was a remarkable win in Australia for India, who lost the first Test and then played the rest of series without their captain – with Virat Kohli returning home after becoming a dad for the first time.
The biggest name in Indian cricket is ready to return though for this home series, along with the likes of Ishant Sharma, Ravi Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah.
Ashwin, currently fourth in India’s all-time wicket-taking list, will become an even more important figure for India with Ravindra Jadeja missing out, and the spinner is 8/1 to be named Man of the Match in the first Test.
*All odds correct at time of writing