The India-England Test series might already have a winner, but there will be lots to play for when the two teams step out in Dharamsala for the fifth Test, especially for some players.

England came to India with the promise of challenging them in their own backyard, unlike many teams have been able to do in the recent past. While the 3-1 scoreline might not reflect so, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they have kept their promise.

With the supposed ‘dead rubber’ fifth Test scheduled to start in Dharamsala from March 7, there will be several parallel storylines and subtexts for players from both sides looking to prove a point.

Rajat Patidar – India

Patidar was handed a debut in the second match of the series in Vizag after KL Rahul was ruled out due to injury. While he can claim that India have won all Tests he has played so far, Patidar would be the first to acknowledge that he has not contributed much to those victories. Six innings have fetched him just 63 runs at an average of 10.5, and with the plethora of batting talent available in India, time might be running out for him shortly after his Test career started. In fact, Patidar might be lucky if he even gets a game in Dharamsala. But if he does, it is imperative for him to make the opportunity count and get a big score and prove that he belongs at Test level.

Sarfaraz Khan – India

Sarfaraz made his much-awaited debut in the third Test of the series after Shreyas Iyer was dropped from the side. Two attacking half-centuries on debut showed his potential, but he failed to deliver in his second game, scoring a 53-ball 14 and a golden duck in Ranchi. Batting talents in India take a long time to be given a go, but not a long time before they are discarded. Another poor outing won’t turn him into a bad player, but it will make people doubt whether his debut fifties were just beginner’s luck. Also, there’s a good chance that stars might not align for him like they have in this series with the absence of several first-choice batters, which makes the fifth Test all the more important for him to seal his middle order spot in the Indian Test side, at least as a backup batter when the seniors return.

Ollie Pope – England

Pope scored a generational 196 in the second innings of the first Test in Hyderabad, with people arguing that it might be the best knock played by an English batter overseas. Since then, however, he has managed only 88 runs from six innings with no fifty-plus scores. The designated vice-captain of the side, this is Pope’s second Test tour to India and he doesn’t have much to show for except for the herculean effort in Hyderabad. Both England and Pope would like him to finish the series on a high, so that they have one less spot to worry about in the XI and to prove that Hyderabad wasn’t a fluke.

Jonny Bairstow – England

Dharamsala is going to be Bairstow’s 100th Test, but it’d be safe to say that he has played with a point to prove throughout his career. In this series specifically, Bairstow has had starts, but has failed to convert any of them into substantial scores. 170 runs from four Tests at 21.25 with a high score of 38 are numbers below someone of the calibre of Bairstow. After the fruitful tour in 2016 where he scored three half-centuries, Bairstow’s last two Test tours of India have not gone to plan as he has four ducks from 12 innings with zero fifty-plus scores. There would be no better way for him to change the narrative than to stamp his authority in his 100th Test with a typically swashbuckling knock and prove that he is still good enough to stake a claim in the England Test side as a pure batter across conditions.

Ben Stokes – England

The England captain has scored 127 runs from seven innings after his first innings 70 in the first Test in Hyderabad. While focus has been on his captaincy, his below par returns with the bat have slipped slightly under the radar. England as a team have are reflecting Stokes the batter, with his last five knocks in the series coming at strike rates below 50 as England look like they have gone away from their tried and tested method. With him playing as a pure batter for the moment, England would want more out of Stokes’ bat. But more importantly, they’d want the free-flowing, ultra-confident, ultra-aggressive batter and leader out there in Dharamsala, leading them the way he has so successfully done in the last two years.

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