India, England set to field debutants

Injury-hit India must end a string of recent reverses at the Wankhede Stadium to secure the series against England when the contest resumes after a week's break with the fourth Test in Mumbai from Thursday.

Virat Kohli's top-ranked Indian side have been the dominant force so far in the five-match series, having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead going into the last two Tests.

A win for the hosts in Mumbai – or even a draw – will halt England's run of three consecutive series wins over India, twice at home in 2011 and 2014 and once on Indian soil in 2012.

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But the hosts have been beset by injuries with incisive fast bowler Mohammad Shami (sore knee) and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (fracture on right index finger) almost certain to be sidelined for the key game.

Opener Lokesh Rahul will return to open the batting with Murali Vijay after missing the previous Test due to an injury on the forearm.

"We are going to take a call later on Shami," Kohli said. "After the Mohali Test he felt soreness in his knee, so we need to take a corrective call on that."

Middle-order batsman Manish Pandey has been called in as a late replacement for Rahane and looks set to debut, while Mumbai paceman Shardul Thakur, who is uncapped at international level, will stand by pending a decision on Shami.

The Wankhede Stadium, where Mahendra Dhoni's men lifted the World Cup in April, 2011 by defeating Sri Lanka in the final, has not been a lucky venue for India in recent times.

It was at this stadium four years ago that Alastair Cook's tourists engineered a remarkable turnaround, beating India by 10 wickets on a raging turner to level the series after losing the first Test in Ahmedabad by nine wickets.

Cook's team went on to win the third Test in Kolkata by seven wickets to clinch the series 2-1, the last time India on home soil.

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The tourists are also suffering from injury setbacks of their own, with former South Africa U19 captain Keaton Jennings replacing the injured teenager Haseeb Hameed, meaning he will become Cook's 11th opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012.

The skipper also rated the likelihood of Stuart Broad's return from a foot tendon injury as only "50-50".

India have suffered embarrassing setbacks in their last two outings at the Wankhede stadium.

They lost a decisive one-dayer against South Africa by a massive 214 runs last year and were also knocked out of the World Twenty20 semi-finals by eventual champions West Indies in March this year.

The loss to South Africa sparked a public spat between curator Sudhir Naik, a former Test opener, and the then team boss Ravi Shastri, who said the good batting surface was a gift handed out to the tourists.

South Africa piled up a massive 4-438 with centuries from Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis before bowling India out for 224 to win the series 3-2.

Naik is not part of the ground staff anymore and early signs indicate a dry pitch that has spin written all over it being offered for the Test.

Local officials, however, rubbished speculation that the wicket will be heavily tilted in favour of the spinners.

"This is a normal wicket, it won't turn from day one," an unnamed ground official was quoted as saying in the media. "It will start turning from day three.

"No special wicket is being prepared. We got 20 days to get it ready because a first-class game was shifted out. I think there will be a little bit of bounce also.

"There was the dew factor to consider too. That is why we have watered the pitch less than usual."

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Kohli preferred to talk more about the rare week-long break between a series and hoped his team too could be afforded the same courtesy when on tour.

"We did not ask for the gap," the India captain said. "It was part of the schedule, so we must make sure that when we go to England next, we have an eight days' gap after three Tests, and a 25-day gap between the one-day and Test series.

England will go home for Christmas after the conclusion of the fifth Test on December 20 and then return for the limited-overs leg which commences on January 15.

Kohli said the break was welcome and rejuvenated the team for the last two Tests.

"With a long season ahead, it did us no harm," he said. "It actually helped us rest a bit, reflect on what we have done in the two games that we won and come back fresh.

"When the squad gathered again, the boys were looking forward to practice. This can only happen when one comes back mentally refreshed and then you are again excited to practise those skills."

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