Wounded England stand in way of big Indian records

December 16-20, 2016
Start time 9.30 local (0400GMT)

England might feel like the guy sighing in relief when he hears the bar keep yelling "last call". They've tried hard to keep up in unfamiliar surroundings, lost players to a schedule that packed five Tests into six weeks, given up their hold on the Anthony de Mello Trophy, and can't be faulted if they are left with nothing more than the desire to go home. Counting the series in Bangladesh, they've been on tour since early October. With one win, four losses, debate over the quality of their captain, suggestions they have fielded lopsided XIs, injuries - James Anderson's soreness being the latest - irritation from the coach over their tactics, and later at the media's antics, this was one awful bender.

India, on the other hand, may feel kinship towards those who go "boo" when told the pub is shutting down for the night. Virat Kohli is in such form he could start playing trick shots to each ball. R Ashwin can't help but pick up wickets. The batting line-up stretches to No. 9. The bowlers are relentless. All of that has been amplified by home conditions. In Chennai, they stand a chance at equalling the most Tests they've ever won in a series - four, against Australia in 2013 - even a draw would take them to 18 matches without a defeat. No Indian team has reached such heights in 84 years of Test history.

There is one more protagonist in play: the city. It was only at the start of this week that Chennai was laid waste by cyclone Vardah.

India WWWDW (completed matches, most recent first)
England LLLDL

Karun Nair has not had the kindest introduction to Test cricket. He has had to hang around on the fringes since the Sri Lanka tour last year, and his extended run in the XI may well be the result of Ajinkya Rahane - who spent a lot longer waiting for his first gig - and Rohit Sharma's injuries. Scores of 4 and 13 - not to mention dropping a catch in the fourth over in Mumbai and then watching the reprieved Keaton Jennings make a century - indicate he has not made the most of his opportunity. He'll be eager to set that right should he get another go in Chennai.

Since his century in Rajkot, Moeen Ali has not made the kind of contributions that befit his talent. His strokes appear effortless, which look nice when the ball flies off the middle and particularly ugly when it is mistimed. His showing more care at the start of the innings might not be too bad an idea. He's the kind of player who goes the extra yard as well. Took on a vicious workload in Mumbai, bowling 53 overs and then had to bat at No. 4. Can he sign off on a high?

India might play successive Tests with the same XI for the first time under Kohli, unless they take the call to play Ishant Sharma, who has rejoined the squad after his wedding last week.

India (probable) 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Karun Nair, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Jayant Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ishant Sharma

England will likely hand a debut to left-arm spinning allrounder Liam Dawson. They are also waiting on Stuart Broad's fitness - he injured his foot in Visakhapatnam and has not played since. He underwent a fitness Test on Wednesday and was scheduled for another on the eve of the Test.

England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Stuart Broad/Chris Woakes, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Jake Ball

Can the behaviour of a pitch that has been through a cyclone and had to be dried by hot coals be predicted? Clearly there was concern over the amount of moisture there was in it. So the ball could seam around. It is Chennai though, the hometown of R Ashwin, so there will be plenty of spin. The rains have subsided, and it was sunny again on the eve of the Test before becoming a bit cloudy in the evening. Considering the work that has been put in by a dedicated groundstaff to make sure the match happens, the first ball could carry more far more meaning than the last.

"This will be my 140th game and I've never played a in a game when we haven't had nets before. But sometimes you do have to remember what happened in the cyclone, when people unfortunately lost their lives. So a net session the day before doesn't seem quite as important after what people have gone through."
England's captain Alastair Cook

"I don't think we are looking at a collective series as 4-0. For us every game is separate from the other and the intensity and the motivation to win a Test match remains the same, whether we have won the series or haven't won the series, or it's drawn."India's captain Virat Kohli