Pineda leads in the AL with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings

Match factsDecember 8-12, 2016 Start time 9.30 local (0400GMT)Big pictureSmall margins. England have lost two Test matches because they havent minded them as much as they are capable of, and now, they have to win in Mumbai to stay alive in the series.India are not without troubles themselves. Their lead fast bowler Mohammed Shami has a sore knee and middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane broke his right index finger in the nets* and has been ruled out of the series. Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey and Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur have been added to the squad as cover.England are also carrying some aching players - chiefly Stuart Broad - but it is their performance so far in the series that would concern them more.Alastair Cook has spoken about how he leads a side that can match India for skill and that the bowling they have faced has not been magical. Those comments were meant to put perspective on the scoreline that reads 2-0 against them; words that would have been stronger had they not been steeped with frustration.James Anderson and company have bounced M Vijay out enough times to suggest a pattern and R Ashwin has had to man rescue operations from the lower-middle order. England have made their plays, had their chances, even won two tosses, but have been found wanting when the moments to dig in have arrived.A weeks worth of rest and time with family should have lifted their spirits though. Plus, if anything could help England forget how they let the opposition get away from 156 for 5 to 417, or how they lost wickets in the last over before stumps twice, it could be their return to Mumbai, the venue of one of their most famous victories.India, on the other hand, drew the game in Rajkot despite chasing most of it, slammed two hundreds to offset the openers fall within the first five overs in Visakhapatnam, and took four wickets in the morning session in Mohali to erase a spate of fielding errors. The tenacity that Virat Kohlis men have shown has been a welcome sight to their fans. More importantly, it has put them in a position to win their fifth Test series in a row. Only once in 84 years has an Indian team achieved that. Wankhede Stadium takes centre stage, again.Form guide(completed matches, most recent first)India WWDWW England LLDLWIn the spotlightOne game into his comeback from a hamstring injury, KL Rahul found himself on the bench nursing a forearm injury. Cant fault a man for blows sustained at short leg, though. He was first in the nets on Tuesday and is expected to play in Mumbai. It must help that Rahul has the unwavering backing of the team management, especially considering the stop-start nature of his career. A big innings wouldnt go amiss either, considering he made 0 and 10 in his previous game.At times, especially in the last Test, Ben Stokes looked the only England bowler capable of getting wickets. That was because he never stopped trying. The allrounder was tireless in the pursuit for reverse swing, or the far more rare movement off the pitch. More of his resolve would be necessary for the team to come back from the position they are in.Team newsKarun Nair should retain his place in the middle order after Rahanes injury. A call on Mohammed Shami will be made on the morning of the Test. If he is unfit, India may bring Bhuvneshwar Kumar back into the XI. Parthiv Patel retains his role as wicketkeeper with Wriddhiman Saha yet to recover from his thigh strain. KL Rahul should slot back in the top of the order.India (probable) 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Karun Nair/Manish Pandey, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Jayant Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Mohammad Shami/ Bhuvneshwar KumarStuart Broad had a 50-50 chance of playing in Mumbai following his foot injury three weeks ago. He did some light training on Tuesday and should he be ready to play, England may well go in with four seamers and two spinners. Keaton Jennings will debut as opener in place of the injured Haseeb Hameed.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Stuart Broad/ Steven Finn, 11 James AndersonPitch and conditionsThis series has been played on surfaces that have largely behaved themselves, and the trend is likely to continue. There will be spin, of course, but reports suggested it wont alarm batsmen until the third day.Stats and triviaIn the last 50 years, 14 England batsmen have made more than 300 runs in a series in India. Alastair Cook is one of them and he can do so again, along with Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes.England have won their last two matches at Wankhede Stadium. India have won 10 out of 24 matches at the venue.In the nine Tests at Wankhede over the last 20 years, no fast bowler has picked up a five-wicket haul. In the same period, the spinners have 13.Virat Kohli needs 41 runs to complete 4000 in Test cricket. He would be the sixth-fastest Indian to the mark in terms of innings played; Virender Sehwag, with 79, is at the top.QuotesPressure to me is people who cant afford food or who are struggling to live. This is just a game of cricket. Ill give it my best shot.England allrounder Moeen Ali*The story has been updated with the news of Ajinkya Rahanes injury Kevin Ritz Jersey . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Steve Reed Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Colorado Rockies Shirts . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Matt Holliday Jersey . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. NEW YORK -- Buck Showalter was scoreboard watching through a fine, steady rain that gave Yankee Stadium a film noir feel.I had no choice, because it was right behind the pitchers head, the Orioles manager said.He got to see Baltimore keep up its late surge while monitoring Torontos stumble in Boston.Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 47th home run, Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones also went deep in a six-run fifth inning and the Orioles beat New York 8-1 on Friday night to open a one-game lead over the Blue Jays for the ALs two wild cards.Baltimore remained 1 1/2 games in front of Detroit, with Seattle another half-game back.Two games are left, and the Orioles magic number for a postseason berth is two.Its definitely a position that you want to be in, Trumbo said.Trumbo and Jones homered off Michael Pineda (6-12), who started with 3 2/3 hitless innings and suddenly became ineffective.Schoop tied his career high with five RBI, hitting a go-ahead, two-run double in the fourth and a three-run homer in the fifth against James Pazos.Baltimore has won three in a row and six of seven. The Orioles lead the major leagues with 250 home runs and have hit three or more in an inning 10 times.I think beyond the regular season were going to see pitching thats going to be top of the line, and its important against that caliber to be able to scrap together some runs that may be a little harder to come by at times, Trumbo said.Yovani Gallardo (6-8) won for just the second time in nine starts since Aug. 5, allowing two hits, three walks and Mark Teixeiras sacrifice fly in six innings.Its obviously just hard to grip the ball, Gallardo said. Slipping off the mound.There were maybe 1,000 people in the seats among the announced crowd of 33,955 when the game began, and there was standing water on the warning track. Only about 200 stayed in the seats for the final out.Yankees second baseman Ronald Torreyes, center fielder Eric Young Jr. and first baseman Tyler Austin slipped to the turf while attempting to field balls. Third baseman Chase Headley splashed into a puddle in front of Baltimores dugout chasing a foul popup and Torrreyes, having moved to shortstop, snagged Chris Davis wind-blown seventh-inning pop about 10 feet from home plate.ddddddddddddIt was just ugly. Theres no other way to put it, Teixeira said.Eliminated on Thursday, New York rested two regulars and pulled four others by the sixth inning. Baltimore had lost 11 straight series openers in the Bronx since 2012.Jones 29th homer landed in the second deck in left. Schoop doubled high off the right-field wall and homered into the first deck in left. He also had five RBI on May 14 against Detroit.Pineda allowed five runs, six hits, two homers and three walks in 4 1/3 innings, finishing with a 4.82 ERA. As Trumbo circled the bases, Pineda took off his cap and scratched his head.Pineda leads in the AL with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings but his ERA is 68th among 76 qualifying pitchers in the major leagues.Its mind-boggling, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before the game. It just doesnt make sense. And you look for reasons, and believe me, well look, and Im sure well look a long time this winter.IN THE DEEP OF THE NIGHTBaltimore didnt arrive at its hotel until 4 a.m. following its flight from Toronto. Showalter said the team was delayed for 2 hours at the airport before departing.We really dont have any idea why, he said. Couldnt seem to get the luggage and the equipment on the plane. They held our equipment people at the gate forever.The Blue Jays headed to Boston to finish their schedule.No conspiracies. Im sure the Toronto Blue Jays had the same issue, Showalter said. Mostly American stuff coming back in on the USA side. But it was a mess. I didnt think wed ever get here.UP NEXTLHP Wade Miley (9-13) is scheduled to start for Baltimore on Saturday, when rain again is forecast. He allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings in a 6-1 win over Arizona last weekend. RHP Luis Severino (3-8) is slated to start for New York in place of Masahiro Tanaka (14-4), who missed his previous turn with a right forearm strain. Tanaka finished with 199 2/3 innings. ' ' '