Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to bat first in the third Test against England, at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.
“Good pitch, better than the last two ones we played in. We know Rajkot is supposed to be a good pitch, will behave differently as the game goes on. Good toss to win. We played well as a group. Guys stood up when they had to last game.”
“The next three games will be as exciting as the first two. You can't keep the bigger picture in mind. We'll have to keep focus on what we can do here and come out on top,” said captain Rohit Sharma after winning the toss.
There are four changes in the Indian XI with two debut caps being handed out to Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel. Siraj and Jadeja also return to the line up, with Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar missing out.
While legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble gave Sarfaraz his Test cap, with his father-cum-coach Naushad Khan being teary-eyed in the background, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik handed Jurel his Test cap.
Sarfaraz Khan of India hugs his wife after receiving his debut Test cap during the first day of the 3rd Test match between India and England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium Rajkot on 15 February 2024
(Photo: BCCI)
Shortly after the toss, BCCI shared a statement saying Mukesh has now been released to play Ranji trophy for Bengal. "Mr Mukesh Kumar has been released from the India squad for the third Test against England in Rajkot. He will join his Ranji Trophy team, Bengal, for the team's next fixture before linking up with Team India in Ranchi," said the statement.
The match also marks a landmark moment for English Test captain Ben Stokes who is playing his 100th Test today.
“We'd have batted too, that's what you do in India. Time does fly when you're having fun. Series in nicely balanced, it's a fair reflection of both teams. We're happy with how things have gone. It's been a nice break which helped us refresh,” said Ben Stokes at the toss.
"There was no cricket, we got the families out in Dubai. Cricket can be physically and mentally demanding, so it was a great opportunity to get away from cricket and get the feet up. The great thing about Test matches is there are so many moments where things can change and India came out on top,” he added.
On the eve of the match itself, England had named their playing XI for Rajkot with pacer Mark Wood replacing young spinner Shoaib Bashir from the squad that lost the second Test by 106 runs. This will be the first time England is playing two pacers in their XI, after electing to play a spin-heavy attack in the first two Tests.
With England winning the opening Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs and India bouncing back with a 106-run win at Visakhapatnam, the five-match series is currently levelled at 1-1.
(With inputs from IANS)
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