Same setting in same Southampton, will the result be different?

India do not have fond memories of Southampton. Four years ago, in this very venue, India’s dream of winning a series in England went up in smoke as the hosts inflicted a crushing 226-run defeat on the Dhoni-led side erasing India’s 1-0 advantage and eventually going on to win the series 3-1.

India do not have fond memories of Southampton. Four years ago, in this very venue, India’s dream of winning a series in England went up in smoke as the hosts inflicted a crushing 226-run defeat on the Dhoni-led side erasing India’s 1-0 advantage and eventually going on to win the series 3-1.

Southampton in many ways was the series changer. For Alastair Cook, it was also career saver. The then under-fire England captain enjoyed an early reprieve to compile a patient 95, which gave his Test career a new lease of life.

Four years down the line, Cook is no longer the England captain and Dhoni doesn’t play Test cricket but the setting is pretty much same for the fourth Test at Rose Bowl. Cook is again agonizingly close to losing his Test spot and India are basking in the glory of their last Test victory over their mighty opponents. The 2-1 scoreline may be against the visitors compared to their 1-0 ascendency last time but if one tries to weigh the confidence of both sides coming into this Test match, India’s scale would perhaps rank higher than the hosts.

The reason is obvious, India’s performance in the last Test at Trent Bridge was far superior in all three departments, so much so that they would have emerged victorious had there been separate battles for batting, bowling and fielding.

Yet, the eerie feeling of Rose Bowl has a nostalgia attached to it that is not exactly pleasant for India. And England, it seems, are well aware of it. It’s hard to believe their decision to include Moeen Ali, keeping Adil Rashid in the team, is just to keep a backup bowling option for Stokes, who is in danger of not being able to bowl in the fourth Test.

Ali was dropped from the England Test side after a string of unsatisfactory performances earlier this year and his comeback that too in place of a specialist batsman – Ollie Pope – cannot be just a tactical change.

Ali was the most successful bowler in the only Test match India played at Southampton four years ago, returning with match figures of 8 for 129 that included a match-winning six-wicket haul in the second innings, becoming the first English spinner to take five wickets or more in the fourth innings of a Test match in England after 45 years.

The grass on the pitch, still visible on the eve of the Test match, therefore, may well be an illusion as Kohli rightly pointed out the role of spinners going ahead in the Test match.

“I don't think this pitch is anywhere close to Johannesburg. So I doubt an all-pace attack is the right option," Kohli said.

"...the last time we played here the spinners came into play in the second innings. There were big footmarks. The surface is pretty hard. Once it wears out there can be big footmarks and spinners can get a lot in the second innings. That is how I see the wicket as of now."