Picture Credit: Twitter
It's time for the 3rd Test which is also the Pink-ball Test between the hosts India and the visiting side England. The Day-Night affair is set to begin on 24th February in Ahmedabad and both sides will battle it out for the finale place in the World Test Championship. The two teams can't afford to lose a Test match at this stage. For India to qualify they should atleast manage 1 draw and 1 win in the remaining two Tests, while for England they should win both their Test matches. The four-match Test series is currently levelled 1-1, with England winning the first Test by 227 runs. However, India managed to equal it by registering 317-run against England.
Jasprit Bumrah who was rested in the previous game is likely to make a comeback for pink-ball Test. From the opponent's side James Anderson is also expected to be back for this Test match. It will be interesting to see India's approach in this contest after they suffered a nightmare of 36 all-out in their previous pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
India's record in Ahmedabad
Played - 12; Won - 4; Lost - 2; Draw - 6
India vs England in Ahmedabad
Played - 2; Won -1; Draw -1
Before the 3rd Test between India and England, here are some of the interesting numbers and approaching milestones:
100: Ishant Sharma will become only the 11th Indian to play 100 Test matches and only the 2nd Indian pace bowler to play 100 Test matches after legend Kapil Dev.
400: Ravichandran Ashwin needs just 6 more wickets to pick 400 Test wickets. He will become the 4th Indian with 400 Test wickets after Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh.
2000: Virat Kohli needs 3 more runs to become 5th player to score 2000 runs as captain vs England in international cricket overall.
2000: Joe Root needs just 79 more runs to score 2000 Test runs in Asia continent as a visiting batsman. Only two visiting players, namely Jacques Kallis and Alastair Cook has scored more than 2000 Test runs in Asia.
12000: Virat Kohli needs 44 more runs to score 12000 runs as captain in international cricket. Only two captains Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting has achieved that feat of scoring 12000 runs in international cricket as captain.
10: Number of times Ravichandran Ashwin has dismissed Ben Stokes in Test Cricket. This is the joint-highest for Ashwin along with David Warner.
87: Joe Root needs 87 more runs to surpass Marnus Labuschagne and become the highest run-getter in World Test Championship 2019-2021.
1000: Rohit Sharma needs 110 more runs and Virat Kohli needs 150 more runs respectively to score 1000 runs in World Test Championship 2019-2021.
600: Ravichandran Ashwin needs 4 more wickets to complete 600 wickets in international cricket. Will become only the 5th Indian player to get 600 wickets in international cricket after Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan.