India will hope England fail another trial by spin at the Narendra Modi Stadium when Virat Kohli's side attempt to secure their place in the ICC World Test Championship final.
The tourists won the first match of the series, but back-to-back victories have ended their hopes of facing New Zealand in another final at Lord's.
In-form India only need to avoid defeat in a fourth and final match of the series, which starts in Ahmedabad on Thursday, with Australia hoping England salvage a 2-2 draw to set up a trans-Tasman showdown.
India won the third Test at the same venue by 10 wickets inside two days to take a 2-1 lead, as England were unable to contend with huge turn generated by the spinners on a much-discussed playing surface.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel wrought havoc to put the side who sit second in the rankings on the verge of the final in London.
Root not thinking of Australia
Of course, the situation in the series leaves England in the unusual position of trying to do old rivals Australia a favour.
"I wouldn’t see it as that. I would see it as us ending the series as a draw and having done something special in India," captain Joe Root told reporters.
"Ultimately it is about not having any baggage going into this game. [Winning] would be a monumental effort from this group of players."
Rahane: India planning to turn the screw
England have kept quiet about the standard of the pitches in the second and third Tests, concentrating on trying to learn from their struggles in such tough conditions.
India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane says the tourists can expect more of the same.
"The wicket will be similar to the third Test match and also the second Test in Chennai. Spinning track." the batsman said.
He added: "Talk [about the pitch] happening outside is not at all affecting Indian team. We are concentrating on what we have to do. When we tour we never complain about a pitch."
England to save their Bess for last?
The tourists went with just one frontline spinner in the third Test, with Jack Leach getting the nod ahead of Dom Bess.
Root showed he possibly ought to be more than just a part-time bowler, claiming a stunning maiden five-wicket Test haul with incredible figures of 5-8 as India collapsed to 145 in their first innings.
Bess could join Leach in the team for the last match of the series, having taken five wickets in a first Test that England won by 227 runs and impressed in Sri Lanka.
Key match facts
- India are yet to lose a Test at Narendra Modi Stadium versus England (W2, D1). They have only been beaten twice on the ground in the longest format, winning five and drawing six.
- England have failed to post totals of more than 178 in five of their six innings in the series. The 193 they made combined in two innings in the third Test is the fourth-fewest they have mustered in a Test match when they were bowled out in both knocks.
- Root has only been out twice when playing a conventional or reverse sweep since the start of the Sri Lanka Test tour, scoring 233 runs in the process. The other England batsmen have recorded 206 runs between them over the same period, being dismissed on 12 occasions when deploying those strokes.
- James Anderson has gone 454 deliveries without dismissing Virat Kohli in Test cricket; the India skipper has been dropped three times off his bowling in that time.
- Ashwin has dismissed Ben Stokes on 11 occasions in the longest format, almost twice the number of any other bowler The England all-rounder only averages 18 against the India spinner.
Olympiacos 2-0 Aston Villa (6-2 agg): Villans fall in last four as El Kaabi strikes again
Olympiacos will face Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final after an Ayoub El Kaabi double secured a 6-2 aggregate win over Aston Villa.
After a stunning 4-2 win at Villa Park last weekend to take the ascendancy in the semi-final tie, first-leg hat-trick hero El Kaabi struck early before netting again late on to stamp out any hopes of a Villa comeback.
After a strong start from the visitors, El Kaabi scored his fourth goal of the tie just 10 minutes into Thursday's second leg at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki, getting on the end of Quini's low cross to turn home at the far post.
It looked an uphill battle for Villa, who dominated the possession throughout the contest in Greece but struggled to make a dent in the stubborn hosts.
Douglas Luiz saw a long-range effort saved by Kostas Tzolakis while the Olympiacos goalkeeper also denied Moussa Diaby. El Kaabi made sure late on, getting on the end of a long ball to fire past Martinez and secure Olympiacos' final berth.
The fairytale comeback never materialised for Villa, and it will be Olympiacos who take on Fiorentina at the Agia Sophia Stadium in the Greek capital of Athens on May 29, looking to utilise familiar surroundings to claim their first major European trophy.
Data debrief
El Kaabi was the hero again for Olympiacos as his two second-leg finishes took him to 10 Europa Conference League goals for the campaign, more than any other player, while his 13 strikes in major European competitions are also more than any other player when factoring in his three Europa League goals.
Villa had 73.9 per cent of the ball in the second leg, yet their 1.14 xG (expected goals) was still inferior to Olympiacos' 1.23 as the Greek Super League side's ruthlessness clinched their spot in the final.
IPL: Kohli shines as RCB maintain winning run against Kings
Virat Kohli's superb knock of 92 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a fourth straight win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday as they kept their playoff hopes alive with a 60-run triumph over Punjab Kings.
Kohli smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 47 balls faced as the Challengers set the Kings a daunting target of 241, with Rajat Patidar also bringing up his half-century and Cameron Green (46 off 27) falling just short of doing so.
The Kings pulled off the biggest run chase in IPL history less than two weeks ago, but their hopes of another comeback were dealt a huge blow when Faf du Plessis took a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch to send Jonny Bairstow packing with Punjab at 71-1.
Kohli's contribution wasn't only limited to the bat, as he produced a stunning run out of Shashank Singh, haring onto the scene to send wickets flying with an underarm throw as Shashank failed to make it back by mere inches.
It was then up to Mohammed Siraj to polish off the Punjab tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 as the Kings fell to back-to-back defeats, keeping them ninth in the standings.
Data Debrief: Kohli leads the way
Having previously claimed the honour in 2016, Kohli leads the way in the race for the 2024 Orange Cap, another impressive innings taking him to 634 runs for the campaign.
Averaging 70.44 with a strike rate of 153.51, Kohli put further distance between himself and Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 541 runs put him second in the standings.
Dyche demands 'maximum effort' as the minimum requirement from Everton
Sean Dyche is demanding maximum effort as the minimum requirement from Everton when they host already relegated Sheffield United this weekend.
Despite another nervy season at Goodison Park, during which they were deducted six points following a breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules, the Toffees have secured their top-flight status for another year at least.
Everton are enjoying a strong end to the campaign with last weekend's 1-1 draw at Luton Town extending their unbeaten run to four matches, and Dyche is not expecting his players to rest on their laurels.
"I want us to perform and at least give everything, as we did at Luton," he said.
"You can’t always guarantee you are brilliant. But you can guarantee you give everything, and that was on show again this past weekend.
"The minimum requirement is maximum effort. It hasn’t changed, we want to take that into Goodison and hope we play a little bit better with the ball, and hopefully score some more goals."
Dyche also saluted the impact of the younger members of his squad, with eight players aged 25 or under appearing 10 or more times during a testing season.
"There are a lot of challenges for these players," he added. "But they are beginning to come together as a group, and we have seen that. It has rewarded us, of course, and the fans."
However, their opponents' focus is already on next season, with their immediate return to the Championship confirmed.
In an English top-flight campaign of 38 games or less, only Darwen (112 in 1891-92) and Leicester City (102 in 1908-09) have conceded more goals than the Blades (100).
Chris Wilder knows there is plenty of work to do in United's quest to bounce straight back into the Premier League, but believes the close season will allow him the opportunity to get them in the best shape possible.
"I'll have time to put my own stamp on it," he said. "I'll have time to sign players that I know are going to be good and have a strong enough mentality to do it.
“Defensively and from set-plays and everything else, there's an incredible amount of work to do. We can't do that at the moment because it's difficult, but we will do it, and we'll get it right in terms of those aspects of the game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton – Jordan Pickford
The Everton goalkeeper has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season – including one in each of the Toffees’ last four home games – with only Arsenal’s David Raya recording more (15)
It is Pickford’s second-highest tally of shutouts in a single campaign after 2018-19 (14).
Sheffield United – Ben Brereton
Despite only joining the club in January, the Chile international has scored the most Premier League goals for the Blades this season (six).
Brereton’s rate of a goal every 158 in the second-best by a United player in a single campaign (minimum 500 minutes) after Nathan Blake in 1993-94 (a goal every 145 minutes).
MATCH PREDICTION: EVERTON
Everton have responded to their 6-0 defeat at Chelsea last month by embarking on a four-match unbeaten streak (winning three, drawing one).
By contrast, United have lost each of their last five games, and are only the second side in Premier League history to concede 100 or more goals during a single campaign after Swindon Town in 1993-94.
While the Toffees have lost their final home league match in just one of the last eight seasons (winning six, drawing one), the Blades have lost their final away game in each of their last four Premier League campaigns.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Everton: 54.1%
Sheffield United: 19.3%
Draw: 26.6%
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