IND vs. ENG Test 3: India to battle Struggling Hosts at Leeds, Match Preview and Predictions

After dominating in first two tests India will square off against England in the third test of the five match series which India is leading by 1-0.

While finding win and some long one side sessions Team England will look to level the series in this test. On the other hand team blue, Indians would be in more confident and boosted after that huge win at Lord's in the last test.

One more reason for India to show off is their players comeback in the format as KL Rahul is second highest run getter in this series in both the sides while first in Indian side & Jasprit Bumrah is the highest wicket taker till now in the series. Whereas Rahane, Pujara and Kohli seem to coming back in their class in the last test and Mohammad Siraj too choking batters by his performance on the field.

All eyes will be on the first day as according to experts first day and first innings really matters a lot in England. Whichever team bats first has to score a big total and they will be in the driving seat or if they failed to it the result would be turned ahead.

Pitch Conditions: If we go by what Kohli said about India's team combination. The conditions, though, are likely to favour the seamers once again. The pitch this time is expected to start a bit damp, which means less carry for pacers on the opening day, although Kohli said he was "quite surprised" by the lack of grass and spice on the pitch.

Predicted Playing XI:

England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Saqib Mahmood/Craig Overton, James Anderson

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj