On a rain-hit morning in The Oval, England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope elected to field first in the fifth and last Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series after winning the toss. India have made four changes to their team, introducing Dhruv Jurel, Karun Nair, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep.
As ominous clouds gathered above, the toss was conducted as scheduled, but soon a light rain ensued that prompted the ground staff to roll the covers back on. With England taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, they are looking for their first series victory over India since their 2018 4-1 victory.
England, short-handed with Ben Stokes missing out owing to a shoulder injury, will have Ollie Pope as their leader for this crucial game. Jacob Bethell has replaced Stokes in the XI. The bowling department has also experienced a change with Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue replacing Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, and left-arm spinner Liam Dawson.
Justifying his choice at the toss, Pope stated that the conditions made it a simple one. "I think it was a no-brainer to bowl first with the conditions we have. We are 2-1 ahead but will not be happy with a 2-2 and want to get to 3-1. Lost a couple of men, the captain out, but Woakes is coming along nicely, and some new faces and a long batting lineup," he added.
India, however, have revamped their team with injuries and form. Dhruv Jurel has taken Rishabh Pant's place behind the stumps, Karun Nair replaces Shardul Thakur, and Prasidh Krishna steps in for Jasprit Bumrah. Akash Deep has also been added in place of Anshul Kamboj, who made his debut in the previous Test at Old Trafford.
Skipper Shubman Gill looked least bothered by the toss result. "Don't mind losing the toss if we win the game. A little confused yesterday about how to play, was a little overcast but the wicket is looking good, we'll try to put up good runs in the first innings. It should be a good bowling pitch. We aim to win every match.". We have gotten close in all the games and it is a matter of the extra five or 10 per cent, so boys will be leaving everything out there," he added.
Playing XIs:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue
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