England return to action in the first Test against India on Wednesday, a mere 10 days after they capitulated against Bangladesh in Dhaka. The Test series was drawn but it is the collapse that saw them lose 10 wickets in a session - all of them to spin - in that most dramatic of defeats that will be remembered. India vs England November 9, 2016, 3:30am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass The prospect of taking on the worlds No 1 ranked Test side, in similarly spin-friendly conditions, then, does not appear the ideal series in which to rebuild confidence. That though is the challenge Alastair Cooks side face. Here, we look at what we know about India, their strengths and where England may get some joy…Amazing AshwinHe is the man England fans fear most going into the tour and there is no point sugar-coating it, in Ravichandran Ashwin, England - a side whose vulnerability to spin was so brutally exposed in Bangladesh - are coming up against a world-class spinner at the top of his game. With supreme control over both his off-breaks and brilliantly disguised carrom ball, Englands batsmen will be tested to their very limits. Ravichandran Ashwin (right) has been in magnificent form of late The 6ft 5in off-spinner tops the Test bowling rankings and took 20 wickets at just 21.05 in Indias recent three-match series with New Zealand, including two six-wicket hauls and a seven-for. England must find a way of combating the all-rounder if they are to have any chance of upsetting the odds and winning the series.With DRS in place for the series, it will be interesting to see how Ashwin fares. But, of course, while it could deny him the odd wicket, there is every chance the technology could help him claim back just as many, if not more. Either way the umpires are sure to be kept busy.Opening issuesIt is a problem England know well. Top-class opening batsmen are hard to find and those capable of producing on a consistent basis in the Test arena are all the more rare. In Cook, England at least know they have one. As such, that is one area at least that they may have the edge over India. Murali Vijay was the one constant at the top of the order for India against New Zealand Virat Kohlis side used four different openers during the series with New Zealand. Murali Vijay was the only constant with Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and veteran Gautam Gambhir given one Test apiece at the top of the order.However, none of the quartet could claim to have done enough to have nailed down a place. Vijay hit half-centuries in both innings of the first Test but had a top score of just 19 in his next four innings, Rahul made two scores in the thirties, Dhawan averaged just nine in his two innings and Gambhir - statistically the pick of the bunch - scored 29 and 50 in his two knocks.Injuries to Dhawan and Rahul, as well as another potential option Rohit Sharma, mean Vijay and Gambhir will almost certainly fill the openers berths in Rajkot. But whether the pair will still be in favour by the end of the series remains to be seen.Kohli can be got atFor many, Virat Kohli is the best batsman on the planet, a supreme all-round player who continues to excel in every form of the game. And yet, there is reason to believe that England could have some joy against the India skipper. New Zealand showed that Virat Kohli can be got at for much of their Test series in India Indeed, while he tops the ICCs T20 batting rankings and is second only to AB de Villiers in the ODI standings, he is a comparatively lowly 16th when it comes to Tests - below both Joe Root (fifth) and Alastair Cook (11th) - and is not even his countrys highest-ranked player, that honour falls to Ajinkya Rahane (sixth).Even if you ignore the rankings - and 16th in the world is still some achievement - Kohlis recent form in the longer format has been decidedly mixed and he struggled to make an impact in his first four innings in the New Zealand series with scores of nine, 18, nine and 45. That he fell to pace bowlers in three of those innings should also give Englands impressive seam attack reason for optimism.The caveat to all of this? It was spin that did for him in his fifth innings of that series… after he had smashed a career-best 211.Win the tossWith spin expected to play such a big part in the series on pitches that are likely to deteriorate and making batting increasingly difficult as the game goes on, the toss could play a significant part in deciding the outcome. Kohli has reason to smile given Indias recent home form - but how much has winning the toss helped? India have won the toss in each of their last eight Tests on home soil, winning seven and drawing the other. Indeed, since Kohli took over from MS Dhoni as Test captain, he has won seven consecutive tosses in home matches, picking up six wins. In comparison he has called correctly only three times in 10 Tests abroad, of which India won only four.Of course, winning the toss is no guarantee of success for England but given Indias hugely impressive record in home conditions, it would certainly be a decent start.Life without DhoniIt is coming up to two years since Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket, the wicketkeeper calling it a day after the drawn Boxing Day Test in Melbourne confirmed Indias defeat in the series. Wriddhiman Saha has taken the glove since MS Dhonis retirement and bats at No 8 Kohli took over the captaincy and since a one-off Test in Bangladesh ended in a draw, India have won their last four series by an aggregate score of 10-1 to rise to the top of the Test rankings.Dhonis retirement has though altered the balance of the side and led to a reshuffle. As well as leading the bowling attack, the pressure is on Ashwin to do his bit with the bat as well having been bumped up to No 7.That is to accommodate Wriddhiman Saha, who has taken over behind the stumps and slots in at eight. However, after two half-centuries in three innings during the New Zealand series, averaging 112, he may be looking for a promotion himself before long.Watch the first Test between India and England from 3.30am on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports 2 HD. Also See: Englands XI for the first Test? Ashwin: Indias spin wizard India v England flash points DRS: Indias new dimension Custom Jeff Bagwell Jersey . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Custom Astros T-shirts . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/ .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Astros Jerseys China . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Authentic Custom Astros Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. NEW YORK -- NBCs flagship Sunday Night Football game had its smallest audience in five years this week, evidence of the NFLs new deflation issue.The game between Indianapolis and Houston reached 13.6 million viewers, removing the weekly broadcast from its usual spot at or very close to the top of the Nielsen company ratings. CBS Thursday night game scored slightly higher.To be fair, Indianapolis and Houston represents few fans idea of a marquee matchup. NFL ratings have been down in general this year, leading to much speculation about the cause. Intense interest in the presidential race is thought to be one factor in the slump.This season, NBCs prime-time games have been down 17 percent from last year, when ratings were at their peak for the telecast.A continued slump for the NFL, which has been one of the most dependable ways for TV networks to get viewers in recent years, has broad implications. Networks may be forced to offer make goods, or free commercials, to advertisers if ratings dont pick up. If the downfall is long term, it could impact the prices that networks pay the NFL for broadcast packages.CBS won the week in prime time, averaging 9.1 million viewers. NBC had 7.2 million, and won among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic advertisers seek. ABC had 5.8 million, Fox had 5.1 million, Telemundo had 1.72 million, Univisionn had 1.dddddddddddd66 million, the CW had 1.6 million and ION Television had 1.1 million.Fox News Channel was the weeks most popular cable network, averaging 2.44 million viewers in prime time. TBS had 2.23 million, ESPN had 1.99 million, MSNBC had 1.55 million and USA had 1.5 million.ABCs World News Tonight topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.3 million viewers. NBCs Nightly News had 8 million and the CBS Evening News reached 6.6 million.For the week of Oct. 10-16, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: The O.T., Fox, 15.38 million; NCIS, CBS, 14.77 million; NFL Football: Denver at San Diego, CBS, 14.49 million; The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 14.41 million; NFL Football: Indianapolis at Houston, NBC, 13.6 million; Bull, CBS, 13 million; The Voice (Monday), NBC, 11.37 million; Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick, NBC, 11.01 million; NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 10.89 million; The Voice (Tuesday), NBC, 10.88 million.---ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks.---Online:http://www.nielsen.com ' ' '