England v India: Still worth the backing hosts with one day left

Complacency is not something England will ever be guilty of under captain Andrew Strauss – and they have every chance of proving that this Monday against India.

After a huge chunk of the first day was wiped out because of rain delays, England put in a superb performance with the bat to rack up a score of 591.

India hit back with a score of 300, largely thanks to Rahul Dravid who top scored with 149.

However, it wasn’t enough to avoid the follow on and, with Strauss determined to end the series with an historic whitewash, there is no chance of this final Test being treated as a dead rubber.

Speaking before the Test, he said: “There’s always that danger of taking our foot off the gas, but I hope and expect that we won’t fall into that trap as it’s not what this team is about.

“I think we had a similar situation in Australia over the winter, and we reacted really well in Sydney. We used the confidence that we’d gained in the course of that Ashes series to highlight the good things that we’d done, and that allowed us to repeat them.

“That’s certainly what we’re trying to do this week. I’m absolutely certain that India will want to finish the tour on a high note and we have to stop them doing that.”

With Dravid in such sparkling form it’s going to be tough for England to take all the wickets required on the final day.

However, with a good forecast and enough of movement in the pitch, England certainly have the bowlers to make sure the final day is a thrilling spectacle.

England are 10/11 to win while the draw can also be backed at the same price.