Jonny Bairstow to Joe Root: 3 English players who can create problems for Bumrah-led India in Birmingham Test

The fifth Test of the five-match series between India and England will take place at Edgbaston from Friday (July 1). India have won two out of the first four Tests and lead the series by a margin of 2-1, meaning a win or a draw will be enough for them to bag the trophy. On the other hand, England need nothing less than a win if they want to save themselves from the embarrassment of losing a Test series against India at home.

The Ben Stokes-led side are coming into this game on the back of three back-to-back wins against New Zealand. In his maiden series as Poms' Test captain, the star all-rounder led England to whitewash the Black Caps and send a stern warning to India as well. In the Kiwi series, England played an attacking brand of cricket and chased down the target of 275+ runs in the fourth innings of all three matches with relative ease.

The English team is on a roll and would like to continue in the same fashion against India, which is slightly weaker after an injury to opening batter KL Rahul and a COVID to skipper Rohit Sharma. They were the top two run getters for India in the four Tests against England last year and their presence will be missed.

Here’s a look at three Englishmen that India needs to be wary of:

Jonny Bairstow: The wicket-keeper featured in all four Tests against India last year but was not able to do much with the bat and only amassed a total of 184 runs in seven innings. But in the Kiwi series last month, he was on fire. The 32-year-old right-handed batter scored a sensational century in the fourth innings of the second Test and followed it up with a quickfire unbeaten fifty in the third match along with a first innings hundred to seal a series win for the Poms.

He didn’t restrict himself from playing big shots and hammered as many as 7 sixes and 14 fours during his 92-ball, 136-run innings at Trent Bridge. He was the wrecker-in-chief and helped the Poms chase down the target of 299 runs on the final day. His innings in Nottingham wasn’t a fluke as he doubled it by scoring 162 off 157 balls (24 fours) in the first innings of the Leeds Test and then remained unbeaten on 71 from 44 balls (9 fours, 3 sixes) in the second essay. In the six innings against New Zealand, he scored 394 runs at an average of 78.80 and a strike rate of 120.12.

Joe Root: The former English captain has been an entirely different batter since the start of 2021. The Yorkshire man has scored as many as 10 centuries during that period and is at the number one position in the Test batter’s ranking as well. The 31-year-old is in rich form at the moment and has scored two back-to-back centuries against New Zealand (115 not out in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test and 176 in the 1st innings of the 2nd Test). He also remained not out on 86 in the second innings of the third Test and played an integral role in England's clean sweep. Root finished the Kiwi series as the highest run getter for England by scoring 396 runs in six innings at an average of 99.00. In the four matches against India last year as well, he was in top-form and, with the help of three centuries and one fifty, he scored 564 runs in seven innings.

James Anderson: Even at the age of 39, Anderson is a force to reckon with and is all set to ask tough questions in possibly his final game against India. The right-arm pacer from Burnley is the leading wicket-taker for the Poms in Test cricket and third highest of all time. After an average outing in the Ashes earlier this year, he was dropped for the West Indies tour, which England lost, and only made a comeback in the Kiwi Tests. He featured in the first two matches and picked up 11 wickets, including a four-fer in the first innings of the opening Test. There were doubts over his availability after he missed the third New Zealand Test due to an ankle injury. But he managed to recover on time and is included in England’s playing XI.