Manchester [UK], July 23 : England Test captain Ben Stokes won the fourth consecutive toss and opted to bowl against India in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday.
India, trailing by 1-2, needs to conjure a win to keep the series alive. A defeat would mark the beginning of captain Shubman Gill's era. On the other hand, England, who stood triumphant with a 22-run victory at Lord's, will look to take confidence from their past exploits and take an unassailable lead in the series.
Injuries have plagued the Indian camp, with Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep ruled out of the fourth Test due to injuries. Young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of he series, owing to a left knee injury.
Anshul Kamboj, a 24-year-old seamer from Haryana, was sent to Manchester to bolster India's pace bowling options, and he has been preferred to fill the vacant spot left by Akash ahead of Prasidh Krishna. He received his maiden cap from former cricketer Deep Dasgupta. Along with this, Shardul Thakur has come in to replace the injured Nitish, while Karun Nair has run out of chances, and Sai Sudharsan has returned to the squad for the first time since the series opener in Leeds.
After winning the toss, England captain Ben Stokes said, "We're going to have a bowl. Decent overhead conditions for bowling. We've had a good break in between. Good chance for everyone to head back home and get the batteries recharged. Everyone left everything out on the field at Lord's. We've had three games go down to the final session, which says a lot about the quality of the teams. Typical Manchester wicket. Quite firm. Some grass. Dawson back in the team - long time since the last Test, but he's gone well over the years."
India captain Shubman Gill said during the time of the toss, " I was actually confused. Good toss to lose. The way we've played in the last three Tests has been outstanding. Some crunch moments we've lost, but we've won more sessions than they have. You need a bit of a break. All three Tests were intense. Looks like a good surface. There's some forecast around in the four- to five-day range. Three changes: Sai Sudharsan comes in place of Karun. Kamboj and Shardul are in as well for Akash Deep and Reddy, who are injured."
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj.
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