The only Test left to play in Birmingham is live and in action as Ben Stokes, skipper of team England won the toss to allow the visitors to bat first.
Team England will start by bowling first and the decision seems tactical enough to catch the attention that team India has not experienced a good time South Africa Test series and the abroad conditions have been not played much past these months and the home side will be looking to take advantage to it.
After a disappointing end to the previous season, Pujara’s recent performance in County Cricket has helped him to maintain his position. But he’ll have to be open, which will present him with a raw obstacle. It will be the same for people like Vihari and Iyer. The history of Edgbaston may have persuaded Ravichandran Ashwin to play a second spinner, but India has chosen to stick with the strategy that has worked for them in this series’ earlier games.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah(c)
England (Playing XI): Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Sam Billings(w), Matty Potts, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson
