Starting on Thursday, January 25, the first Test of the five-match Test series between India and England will take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
India remains the favourites to win the series, even if England will be attempting to fight fire with fire with their innovative Bazball strategy. India has the right to be referred to as the favorites because, over the past 12 years, no side has been able to defeat them in red-ball cricket played in their own country. The Asian giants have not permitted any team to leave their shores with a series win in the longest version of the game since Alastair Cook & Co. defeated MS Dhoni’s team in 2012. Since the 1-2 loss to England, they have won 16 straight home Test series.
Since 2013, 46 Test matches have been held in India. Of those, the home team has won 38 and lost just three (India vs Australia in 2017 and 2023 and India vs England in Chennai for the first Test in 2021). India has been so dominant at home for a long time that many experts believe it to be unstoppable. Captain Rohit Sharma disagreed, stating that the squad needs to play excellent cricket in order to defeat England.
“We are not invincible, in my opinion. That is not the way we want to think. However, our prior performance in the last ten or so years does not ensure that we will win this series. To win this series, we need to play well,” Rohit stated on Wednesday, January 24, at his pre-game news conference.
The victory in Cape Town has lifted our spirits: Rohit Sharma
Earlier this month, in the second Test match against South Africa in Cape Town, the Mumbai batter guided India to a historic victory. At the location, this was the first Test match win by an Asian team. With that victory, India became the first team in the Rainbow Nation to escape losing a Test series. The team has a lot of confidence now that they won in Cape Town, according to Rohit, and they will carry it into the series against Ben Stokes’ team.
“This match is in Hyderabad, but the victory in Cape Town was impressive. It’s distinct circumstances and opponents. However, we are quite confident now that we have won, and we can carry that into this series, Rohit said.