Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 24 (ANI): England won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Wednesday.
India has made two changes, Jasprit Bumrah comes in for Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar comes in for Kuldeep Yadav.
Speaking at the toss, Joe Root said: “We are gonna bat first. Hopefully, we will get a big score like the first Test. Hoping the wicket will dry out as the game goes along. It is certainly harder and seems to swing more compared to the red ball. We are very excited to be here 1-1 and are looking to do well. Four changes. Anderson, Archer, Bairstow, Crawley back in. Burns, Lawrence, Stone, Moeen Ali out.”
Virat Kohli said: “We would have batted first as well. We would look to get into the game early on. The practice wickets have been quite spicy. Something that we have enjoyed as a team. It is such an exciting atmosphere here at the largest cricket stadium. I am a bit worried about the lights. We have played in a similar stadium in Dubai. You need to adapt pretty quickly. Bumrah comes in for Siraj and Washington Sundar comes in for Kuldeep Yadav. We wanted to have a spinning option and Washi provides a lot with the bat as well. And having cushion with the bat helps especially in this situation when we bat second as the game could be evened out after the first innings,” he said.
High on confidence after thrashing England in the second Test in Chennai, the Virat Kohli-led Indian team will look to keep the winning momentum going. A win will take them one step closer to a spot in the final of the maiden World Test Championship.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
England playing XI: Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root(c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes(w), Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson. (ANI)
