England vs India 2018, Third Test - England Bowl First, Rishabh Pant Debuts

England won the toss and decided to field first against India in the third England vs India Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. 

Here is what the captains said:

Joe Root:

“Nice covering of live grass, we’ve done well with the ball, and we’ll be looking to pick up quick wickets. Sam did well with the ball, but Stokes will be replacing him. Yeah, it’s dangerous to look too far ahead, and we have to play five days of solid cricket.”

Virat Kohli:

“We wanted top bat first. The surface looks really hard. Good grass cover. Good cricket wicket. Important to not worry in the first hour and be fresh, and to just go out there and express ourselves. Bumrah’s back in foir Kuldeep; Dhawan in for Murali Vijay; Pant in for Karthik.”

Proud moment for young Rishabh Pant as he becomes the 291st player to represent #TeamIndia in Test cricket.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/k63yG7IRrU

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 18, 2018

Preview:

The series was deemed to change the face of Indian cricket in overseas conditions. However, it is fast bringing back the horrific memories of the previous series outside India.

The expectations were sky high from this side. Virat Kohli & Co. had gone to England after winning 9 out of their last ten series. But two Tests later, fans around the country are fearing another dreadful result. The team is already two down in the five-match series and need to play out of their skin to avoid a third successive series loss in England.

Nothing went right for the visitors at Lord’s. With the bat, they struggled to put up the runs while with the ball, they failed to take the wickets. With momentum firmly with the hosts, India need a herculean effort to claw their way back into the game.

On the other hand, a resurgent England will look to make the most of the opportunity and beat the world number one side with two matches still to go. Their batting department did well at Lord’s while their bowlers absolutely blew away the opposition. As of now, England don’t have much to ponder and another clinical performance will be enough for them to wrap up the series at Trent Bridge.

Playing elevens:

England:

Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root(c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow(w), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

India:

Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah