Essex batsman Dan Lawrence will hope to cement his place in the England side with some good performances in India
NO doubt you, as I did, experienced a range of emotions on the morning of January 19. You woke up, checked the result in the final Test match in Brisbane, and then convulsed with laughter as you realized that Australia had lost, at home, to 11 Indian cricketers of whom you’d never heard. You’ll have chortled as a bowling attack that boasted roughly four caps and just over 10 Test wickets between them outclassed a fearsome Australian bowling unit. You’d have guffawed as a batting lineup lacking Virat Kohli outscored Steve Smith, David Warner, and Marnus Labuschagne. You would have wiped a tear of joy as you remembered that all this occurred at the ‘Gabbatoir’, Australia’s fortress, where they haven’t lost since 1988—then felt white-hot fear as you remember that India’s next victim is us.
On Friday, England begins a four-Test series at Chennai. It’s no exaggeration to say that, should England win, it would go down as one of our greatest overseas successes. Make no mistake, this Indian side is very, very good and made light work of Sir Alastair Cook and his men on England’s last visit in 2016, winning the series 4–0.
'Realistically, the only team that can beat India is India themselves'
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