London [UK], July 31: England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope won the toss and elected to bowl against India in the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval on Thursday. The toss was briefly delayed by a drizzle, but the skies cleared quickly for the start of play. India captain Shubman Gill, who lost his fifth consecutive toss in the series, was forced to bat under gloomy conditions.
With India trailing 1-2 in the five-match series, the visitors have made four significant changes to their playing XI. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel comes in for the injured vice-captain Rishabh Pant. Pacer Prasidh Krishna, who made his Test debut against South Africa and has played four Tests previously, replaces the rested Jasprit Bumrah, who completed his quota of three Tests in the series.
Triple-centurion Karun Nair, who was dropped for the fourth Test in Manchester, makes a comeback into the side, replacing all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Debutant from Old Trafford, Anshul Kamboj, has been dropped, making way for Akash Deep.
England also have several key players missing. Regular captain Ben Stokes, along with Brydon Carse, tearaway pacer Jofra Archer, and Liam Dawson, are all sitting out the fifth Test. Ollie Pope is leading England for the fifth time in Tests, having previously won three of his four matches as captain.
After winning the toss, England stand-in captain Ollie Pope stated, “We’ll bowl. It’s a bit overcast, so it’s a no-brainer to have a bowl on this pitch. Lost the captain, but the others are tracking nicely, we’ve got a few fresh faces as well. We bat deep, Gus Atkinson and Overton have got runs. We’re not going to contend with 2:2, we want to go out there and win it.”
India captain Shubman Gill, expressing his consistent misfortune with the coin, said, “Don’t mind losing the toss as long as we win the game. Was a bit confused yesterday about what to do, was a bit overcast. Should be a good pitch for the bowlers. We’ve got three changes. Jurel, Karun and Prasidh in for Pant, Shardul and Bumrah. The boys are looking for one final push and will be giving it their all.” Gill has had a stellar series with the bat, scoring four centuries and over 700 runs as captain.
Playing XIs:
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue