History and form against India

England's stronghold
Crushing defeats in the first two Tests at Lord's and Trent Bridge have left India with a mountain to climb if they are to defend their No.1 ranking. India are in danger of losing three Tests in a series for the first time since their 3-0 defeat in Australia in 1999-2000. Plagued by injuries to their lead bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, India were far from impressive in the warm-up match against Northamtponshire, and will need a remarkable turnaround in form if they are to challenge a supremely confident England who will assume the No.1 ranking if they win the third Test. England's supremacy in the series can be gauged from the fact that despite being in tricky situations in both Tests, they not only fought back, but also took the game well and truly beyond India with strong batting performances in their second innings. For a detailed stats review of the first two Tests, click here.

While India will be hoping for some change of fortune in the series, Edgbaston does not represent their most favoured venue to effect such a fightback. They have failed to win a single Test and have lost four matches at this venue. India, who have not played a Test at the venue in their last two visits, lost by eight wickets in their previous match in 1996 despite Sachin Tendulkar's fighting century. England, though, will hardly have any complaints about the venue. Their win-loss ratio of 2.87 at Edgbaston is the best among home venues that have hosted at least 30 Tests. After a bad loss to West Indies in 2000, England have gone on to win five and lose two of the next ten Tests at Edgbaston. England, who scored 417 runs on the third day against a dispirited India at Trent Bridge, also aggregated over 400 runs in a day's play against Australia at Edgbaston in 2005. On that occasion, they resisted Shane Warne's all-round heroics and went on to win a thrilling Test match by two runs. England's only defeat in the last five years at the venue came against South Africa when Graeme Smith successfully anchored a difficult chase of a 281-run target.

Challenging venue for batsmen
Edgbaston, like Trent Bridge and Headingley, has been a bowler-friendly venue in England. While batting has been challenging in the first innings of matches, the conditions tend to improve in the second innings. In the second innings of Tests played at the venue since 2000, batsmen have scored more centuries and fifties than they have managed in the first. The story is very different in the third innings though; both the average and run-rate fall well below the corresponding numbers in the first two innings. The pitch has had a tendency to flatten out towards the end and, as a result, the batting stats in the fourth innings look much better.

Pace bowlers have dominated the wickets tally across all four innings at Edgbaston. Their average is the best in the first and third innings. While James Anderson has 18 wickets in five matches at an average of 29.44, the in-form Stuart Broad has played only two Tests picking up eight wickets.

Spinners, who have struggled for impact in the series, are likely to enjoy bowling at Edgbaston. Since 2000, they average 18.63 in the third innings and 26.71 in the fourth innings of matches at the venue. However, while Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan have picked up a total of 33 wickets at an average of 16.06, the other spinners have managed 53 at an average of 33.73.

Opening worries for England
Before the start of the second Test, none of the England batsmen had strong performances at Trent Bridge. While the openers disappointed again, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell boosted their batting stats at the venue. Bell in particular, was outstanding during his second-innings knock of 159, and will similarly look to improve on an otherwise ordinary record at Edgbaston. Pietersen, on the other hand, has been the best England batsman at the venue with an average over 60. Jonathan Trott, who will miss the third Test with an injury, has scored half-centuries in both his innings at the venue. Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, England's most prolific opening partnership, have aggregated just 110 runs at an average of 13. 75 in their last eight stands and have not figured together in a half-century opening stand since adding 98 in Sydney in January 2011.

Sehwag not a major threat outside Asia
India, who have been well below-par in the two matches so far, will look up to Virender Sehwag who is returning after an injury lay-off. Among batsmen with over 2000 runs in Tests, Sehwag's strike-rate of 81.91 in Tests is second only to that of Adam Gilchrist. Sehwag, who has an outstanding average of 68.80 in the team first innings with 21 centuries, has been disappointing in the second innings where he averages just 30.63 with one century. In Tests since 2005, he has been brilliant in home Tests with a high strike-rate and boundary percentage against pace bowlers and spinners. However, in away Tests outside the subcontinent, the numbers are very different. Although his strike-rate falls to 77.50, he averages over 42 against pace bowlers who have accounted for 22 of his 30 dismissals in the period. The surprise, though, lies in his poor display against spinners outside Asia; he has averaged just 21 and been dismissed six times. In sharp contrast to his batting form in home wins (average 62.41 with four centuries), he has been ordinary in the five wins outside the subcontinent since 2005 (average 21.55 and no score over fifty).