Q&A: Can England bounce back to level series in fifth Test against India?

England are 2-1 down heading into the final Test against India, following a 157-run defeat at the Kia Oval.

Joe Root’s side are now playing for a share of the spoils at best.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how they might respond at Emirates Old Trafford.

Do England have it in them to bounce back?

Can you give me an example?

You don’t have to look any further than this series to see England’s propensity for rising from the canvas. When they were skittled on day five of the second Test at Lord’s, they looked overmatched by the tourists but responded with an emphatic win to level the series at Headingley. Not only did they put the Indians away, they did it by an innings and 76 runs.

Aren’t India just a better Test team in 2021?

That could prove to be a stumbling block, yes. A composite XI to play in English conditions would have rather more representation from the away dressing room than usual. They have consistently been ranked above England in the ICC table for several years, reached the inaugural World Test Championship final while Root and company watched from home and recently bested Australia in their own backyard. When India play five-day cricket, they usually win.

What can England do better?

Will fresh faces help?

Time for tons

Not many teams win the big games without posting a century or two along the way. At the moment England are leaning enormously on their captain to do that heavy lifting. Root has scored six hundreds since the turn of the year, including two doubles. The rest of the team has a grand total of one, from Rory Burns back in early June. Now is the time for someone else to plant their flag. It does not matter if it is Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Pope, Bairstow, Buttler or Burns again, but someone needs to let Root know he has support.