England vs India - First Test: Preview & Tips

England's five-match Test series in India starts on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, where the hosts have a formidable record.

India have won four and drawn one of their five Tests at the Hyderabad venue, including innings victories over Australia and New Zealand, and Rohit Sharma's men are incredibly tough to beat on their own patch.

England made a flying start to their last Test tour of India in 2021, when Joe Root scored a double-century in a 227-run win in the opening game in Chennai.

However, India's spinners hit back in the next three matches, dismissing the tourists for 134, 164, 112, 81, 205 and 135, and the hosts have lost just three of their 40 home Test matches in the past decade.

They will have to cope without superstar batter Virat Kohli for the first two matches of the series while England's Harry Brook, who has scored four centuries in his first five away Tests, has returned home for personal reasons.

Tip 1 - England Opening Partnership Over 24.5 - Innings 1 @ 10/11

England's 2012 triumph in India owed much to the contributions of opener Alastair Cook, who finished as the leading runscorer in the series with 562 runs in eight innings.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, England's current openers, play a lot more attacking shots than Cook ever did and they could get the visitors off to a flyer in the first innings of the opening Test.

Both Crawley and Duckett scored brisk centuries on day one of the series opener in Pakistan in December 2022 and, while facing India pacemen Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj is never easy, England's top two should be backed to put on at least 25.

Duckett made 107, nought, 63, 79, 26 and 82 not out on the tour of Pakistan before smashing 182 against Ireland and scoring 98 and 83 against Australia at Lord's last summer.

Crawley scored a brilliant 189 in the fourth Ashes Test and had a consistent series against the Aussies, racking up scores of 61, 48, 33 and 22 in the first innings of the other four matches.

He crunched the first ball of the series, bowled by Aussie skipper Pat Cummins, through the covers for four and the same kind of fearless strokeplay will be required in India.

Tip 2 - Rohit Sharma India Top Run Scorer - Innings 1 @ 3/1

Rohit Sharma played a couple of crucial innings in India's 2021 series win over England, scoring 161 in a total of 329 in the second Test in Chennai and 66 and 25 not out in the third game in Ahmedabad, where only one other batter in the match reached 30.

Now Test captain, Rohit still poses a huge threat to the England bowlers and he looked in magnificent nick during India's run to the World Cup final in November.

His dismissal for 47 off 31 balls was a key turning point in the final, which Australia went on to win by six wickets, and he should relish the responsibility of leading India against England, especially with Kohli unavailable for the first Test.

Rohit has had an unconventional build-up to the first Test, making two ducks and a blistering century in this month's Twenty20 series against Afghanistan.

However, he averages just under 67 in home Tests, scoring eight centuries in just 36 innings, and he should be backed to start this series in style – just as he did against Australia last year, when he top-scored with 120 in the first innings of the first Test in Nagpur.

Tip 3 - Ravichandran Ashwin Player of the Match @ 15/2

Like Rohit, Ravichandran Ashwin is another golden oldie who can still be relied on to deliver the goods for India. The off-spinner only had a bit part in the 2023 World Cup campaign but he remains the main man when it comes to Test cricket.

Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker in last year's series against Australia, claiming 25 scalps in four matches, and he has picked up 74 wickets in 13 home Tests against England.

The 37-year-old needs only 10 more Test wickets to reach the 500 mark and it may not take him long to get to the milestone.

He was player of the series against England in 2021 after hauls of nine, eight, seven and eight wickets in the four Tests and his batting prowess is another reason to back him in the player-of-the-match market in Hyderabad.

Ashwin averages 43 against England at home, helped by an innings of 106 in the second Test of the 2021 series in Chennai, where the tourists were bowled out for 134 and 164.

He spun India to victory against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 2012, taking 6-31 and 6-54, and his matchwinning menace is undiminished 12 years on.