India vs England: India favourites for England Test series, says Allan Lamb

CHENNAI: India haven't tasted success in a Test series in England since 2007, when Rahul Dravid & Co. triumphed 1-0 against the hosts. On their previous two tours to England in 2011 and 2014, they were in fact on the receiving end of 0-4 and 1-3 drubbings respectively.
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Former England skipper Allan Lamb, however, is backing India to buck that trend and has his money on the Virat Kohli-led side."According to me, India will start as the favourites going into the series. I expect the conditions to be in their favour as the series unfolds. It has not rained here much in the last few weeks. This will result in wickets being on the drier side and that should bring the Indian spinners into play. I am sure the curators will water it sufficiently, but the sunny conditions will dry the wickets which should help India," Lamb told TOI on Monday.
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With India naming three frontline spinners - R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja - in the 18-member squad, Lamb wants to have two of them as part of the playing XI. "I am impressed with Kuldeep as he brings variety to the Indian bowling line-up. Yes, Joe Root and a few others did read him in the one-dayers, but I would want to still see him in action in the Tests. He and Ashwin will be a good combination to go with," said Lamb, who played 79 Tests and 122 ODIs for England.
While facing the Indian spinners, Lamb advised the England batsman to bide their time. "You can't just walk in thinking of only employing a particular shot such as the sweep. The trick is to use your feet as much as possible to get runs and be patient. England will depend on Root and the experienced Alastair Cook to do the majority of scoring while others like Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes too are capable of scoring those crucial runs for the side," he said.
Lamb believes India will benefit from players who have got county experience under their belt. In the Test squad, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma and Ashwin are among those to have played county cricket. "It's a big plus when you feature in county cricket. As a bowler you would know the lengths to bowl to, and as a batsman you learn to make those minute adjustments needed to score runs on English pitches," Lamb said.
The absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the first three Tests due to injury notwithstanding, Lamb still rates the Indian pace attack highly. "Ishant is coming after having had a good county stint. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Mohd Shami are capable of bowling with pace and conditions will help them get some swing as well. It will be interesting to see how the English quicks - James Anderson and Stuart Broad - shape up considering they are returning from injuries," he said.
What would be the outcome for the series? "I would go with a 3-1 scoreline in favour of India. There may be an odd draw but I do see India winning the series," Lamb said.