One of the big duels of the summer gets underway today as Team India take on mighty England today. One of the main contests to watch out for would be between seasoned pacer James Anderson and King Kohli, but there are a lot of other things to keep in mind. The Bharat Army takes a look at

• India vs England History
• India's Squad for England
• Team India's Strenth
• Team India's Weakness
• Bharat Army's Ideal Playing XI
• Players' to watch out for

India vs England History:

- The first test match between India & England was played in the year 1932 which England won by 158 runs.

- The first proper test series between the 2 nations was played in 1933/34 in India where England defeated India in a 3 match series by the margin of 2-0. - Out of the 126 test matches, India has won 29 whereas the England lions have won 48 and the other 49 games ended in a draw. - India’s first win against England came in 1952 at Chennai. The Indian side led by Vijay Hazare won the match by an innings and 8 runs. - Sachin Tendulkar has the most runs in England vs India Test Matches (2535 runs in 53 innings with an average of 51.73)

- Amongst the bowlers, James Anderson has the most wickets in all England vs India testmatches (118 wickets in 56 innings)

India's Squad for England

Batsmen:

Rohit Sharma Mayank Agarwal Cheteshwar Pujara Virat Kohli Ajinkya Rahane Hanuma Vihari KL Rahul Rishab Pant Wriddhiman Saha Prithvi Shaw Suryakumar Yadav

Bowlers:

Jasprit Bumrah Ishant Sharma Mohammed Shami Umesh Yadav Mohammed Siraj Shardul Thakur

All Rounders:

Ravichandran Ashwin Ravindra Jadeja Axar Patel

Team India's Strengths:

Experienced Group: The squad selected for the England series is highly experienced playing in the English conditions. Most of the players are on their 2nd & 3rd tour while Ishant Sharma has experience of playing 3 test series previously in England.

The Fab 4: India over the years had the privilege of Fab 4 settling in the Test Team. From Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly & Laxman to now Rohit, Pujara, Kohli & Rahane, Indian Cricket is blessed to have such batsmen. These 4 in the upcoming series will have a huge role to play if India has to win the series in England after 14 years.

Deadly Pace attack: When a team has Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur in the mix then one knows its the best chance of India to pick up 20 wickets in every match.

Strong middle order & its depth : Its a well known fact that over the years, India has struggled with their middle order & key moments in the test match which has cost them overseas Test series & Championships. But with options to complement Kohli & Rahane in the middle are the likes of Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, (Even KL Rahul). India can look for a permanent solution to fix their middle order woes

The Spin & All rounder Trio: We all know what the Spin duo of Ashwin & Axar did to England in the home test series. Now, with the return of Ravindra Jadeja, India have the luxury of playing 2 spinners in every Test match without comprising their batting line up.

Team India's Weakness:

Ability to play swing & seam: It is not a new fact for us that the Indian Team since 2011 has struggled to play in the swinging & seaming conditions in England in longest format. Though there have been brilliance shown in 'bits & pieces' a consistent batting performance is missing.

Absence of fast bowling all rounder: India has a well settled batting line up with quality spin bowlers & a potent pace attack. But, an absence of Pace bowling all rounder can hurt India big time especially in overcast conditions & on green pitches. Stuart Binny did it in 2014, Hardik Pandya somewhat contributed in 2018. Shardul Thakur, though is a more than decent batsman down the order but is still a 80-85% bowler.

Rahane & Pujara stuggles: As we hear the rumours of one last chance for both these top class test batsmen to prove their mettle, its fair to say that time is running out for Cheteshwar Pujara & Ajinkya Rahane. Both had their fair share of valuable knocks in crucial situations but are seriously lacking consistency.

Injuries: Even before the series is about to start, 3 of the original squad players have been ruled out of the series due to injuries (Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan, Washington Sundar). Off late, Team India has really struggled to cope up with injuries. Nevertheless, India have enough 'Match Ready' resources as back up.

The Opening conundrum: Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the series & that has raised few questions as in who will open with Rohit Sharma? For starters, it looks like Mayank Agarwal would be the favourite to start but a string of low scores would open the doors for Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul or even Hanuma Vihari.

Bharat Army's Ideal Playing XI:

1)Rohit Sharma 2) KL Rahul 3) Cheteshwar Pujara 4) Virat Kohli (c) 5) Ajinkya Rahane 6) Rishabh Pant (wk) 7) Ravindra Jadeja 8) R Ashwin 9) Ishant Sharma 10) Mohammed Shami 11) Jasprit Bumrah 

Players to Watch out for:

Rohit Sharma: "I won't be surprised if Rohit replicates his 2019 WC form against England this summer" said Gavaskar. Says a lot about the expecations the team & entire India has from the HITMAN.

Ajinkya Rahane: A constant support from the captain & coach has been translated into brilliant performances but seldom. Rahane has a point to prove to himself & everyone more than anyone in the squad.

Shardul Thakur: With the absence of Hardik Pandya in the Test Squad, potentially Thakur can be considered as an all rounder. A more than perfect bowler & a more than handy batsman down the order, Thakur deserves a place in the XI