With India in the ascent, and history on the line, England must now ask: how do they want to be remembered?

Do England want to be remembered as a side who overcame its flaws to defeat the world’s No 1 side? Or as the victims of one of the most preposterous comebacks in the history of the game?

The fourth Test could prove to be a seminal moment for Joe Root and his team (Getty Images)

The momentum is India’s. The form is India’s. The confidence is India’s. And with sunny weather forecast for the weekend and a good batting strip that should take some turn later in the game, the conditions are marginally India’s. The series lead, however, is still England’s. All is set fair for five fascinating days at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, which could have a devastating effect on the legacy of these two sides.

Only one side in the history of the game has overturned a 2-0 lead, and even if this India team are not quite the equal of Don Bradman’s Australians, they share a talismanic leader in sumptuous form with the bat and no respect for history. Virat Kohli has already made 440 runs against the moving ball so far this series, and in more benign conditions has the potential to grind England into the dirt the same way Bradman did in that 1936-37 Ashes series, with scores of 270, 212 and 169.

It helps, too, that Kohli is a man with very little concept of his own limitations, which means that if India win the toss for the first time this series and choose to bat, an early bead of sweat may well form on the English brow. This is a ground where the new ball and the first 20 overs are of pivotal importance, and if England are through them without getting a look at Kohli, it could be a long two days for them.

Are England capable of batting big themselves? No score of 400 in their last 14 completed innings and no score of 500 in over a year offer cause for concern, at the very least. It’s a sign of the times that even an opening stand of 54 between Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings at Trent Bridge - whose end precipitated a calamitous collapse - can be construed as mild progress. In more favourable conditions, against an Indian pace attack coach Ravi Shastri describes as one of their best ever, and with all manner of reconstructive surgery taking place beneath them, rarely has a sturdy platform been more urgently required.

Another shake-up to the batting order has seen Ollie Pope dropped after just two games, with Jonny Bairstow passed fit despite a fractured finger. James Vince has been released from the squad to go and play airy cover drives at his leisure, which means Bairstow will probably become England's ninth 'permanent' No 4 in the last three years. Consistency, either of selection or performance, is not a luxury England have been allowed of late, and their most recent contortions bear the unmistakable whiff of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks.

The injuries to Bairstow, Ben Stokes (who picked up a minor knee complaint and may not be fully fit to bowl) and Chris Woakes (who has had a recurrence of a long-standing quadricep injury) further complicate matters. Moeen Ali and Sam Curran return to the side, and so essentially England will have a wicket-keeper not keeping wicket at No 4, a wicket-keeper picked as a specialist batsman keeping wicket at No 6, an all-rounder not bowling at No 5, the all-rounder dropped to make way for the first all-rounder after he was cleared in court being recalled at at No 8 to take on the first all-rounder's bowling duties, and an all-rounder originally picked as a lead spinner being picked as a second spinner at No 7 to bolster the batting.

The overwhelming impression, for all their indifferent luck with injuries, is that England are a side who no longer know who their best players are, nor how to deploy them, nor - very possibly - what day of the week it is, or what they had for breakfast this morning.

Injuries to the likes of Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow have complicated matters for England (Getty Images)

There are exceptions, of course. James Anderson, a player whose mastery of his craft has virtually allowed him to eliminate form from his game, will again be England’s lock-picker with the ball, on a ground where he averages just 16.7 in first-class cricket. For a man who relishes the personal battle and cares little for personal milestones, the fact that he is just seven wickets from overtaking Glenn McGrath as Test cricket’s most prolific fast bowler will be of less interest to him than the fact that none of his 17 wickets so far in the series has yet been Kohli.

England’s job is to ease his workload. Such is Anderson’s skill and stamina that the temptation for a captain is always to give him one more over, one more spell. New ball. Then one more burst while the ball’s still shiny. Then a little dart just before the interval. Then a long dry spell with the old ball. It will thus be down to his colleagues - in whatever combination - to stick to their plans, chip in and above all maintain enough control that Anderson can take proper rests. Anderson may be in fine fettle, but he’s also at an age where the next big injury always has the potential to be the last.

James Anderson is still fit and hungry - but England must be smart about how they use the veteran (Getty)

And while Anderson’s legacy may not be in doubt, there are others still open to negotiation. Can Cook stem the run of indifferent form that is threatening to end his career with a whimper? Will Joe Root ever actually score a century again? Is Stuart Broad the force he was? Can Jos Buttler do it when the pressure is on as well as off? And collectively, how does this team want to be remembered? As a side who overcame its flaws to defeat the world’s No 1 side handsomely? Or as the victims of one of the most preposterous comebacks in the history of the game?

For India, too, a legacy is at stake. Lose in Southampton and they will be written off as just another fine Indian team who couldn’t do it away from home. Take the series to The Oval, however, and the possibility of an era-defining triumph tantalisingly presents itself. For Kohli’s men, winning this series would be an achievement to compare with their World Cup triumph of 1983, or winning in the West Indies in 1970-71. Five tough days at the Ageas Bowl will show us whether India are ready for the cloak of greatness.