Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar warned the Indian national cricket team to not take the fifth and last Test at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala lightly.
Gavaskar, in his column for MidDay, accepted that the Ben Stokes-led England side would feel at home in Himachal Pradesh.
“With just one Test match left in the series and that too in weather conditions more English than Indian, the visitors should feel a lot at home. The ball should swing a lot more in the air, but whether it will also seam off the pitch remains to be seen,” Gavaskar wrote.
India already have an unassailable 3-1 lead by winning the fourth test by five wickets. England had won the first test in Hyderabad by 28 runs. India responded by winning the second test in Visakhapatnam by 106 runs, and then the third test in Rajkot by 434 runs.
The win in the fourth Test, by five wickets, was India’s 17th consecutive Test series win at home, where they have not lost a test series since an Alastair Cook-led England bested them in 2012.
For England, who won the opening test in Hyderabad and have been competitive as well as entertaining in Visakhapatnam and Ranchi — it was their first series defeat under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum.
Despite the series being decided, India and England still have 12 World Test Championship (WTC) points to play for in Dharamsala, which gets underway on March 7.
“There’s a school of thought that thinks that with the series decided, the Indians may ease up a bit, but they forget that even a dead rubber match carries points for winning and all those matter when it comes to qualifying for the World Test Championship final,” Gavaskar wrote.
“So, there’s no chance of the Indian team taking it easy. Sure, the pressure will be just that little bit less since the series is already won, but there are places to secure and add to individual aggregates too,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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