England elected to bat first against India in the third and series-deciding ODI at Lord’s after captain Harry Brook won the toss. Brook described the pitch as “a good surface” and backed his side to post a big total and put India under pressure. The decision comes just a month after the ICC rated the Lord’s pitch used for the first Test against New Zealand as “unsatisfactory.”
Both teams made changes for the winner-takes-all contest. England made one change, bringing back Josh Tongue in place of Saqib Mahmood, who featured in the second ODI. Tongue had made his ODI debut in the series opener at Edgbaston. India, meanwhile, made three changes to their XI.
Captain Shubman Gill confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out after suffering a left knee injury, which swelled following an impact sustained while fielding in Cardiff. Washington Sundar also missed the match due to a hamstring injury picked up in the second ODI, while Shivam Dube was left out for tactical reasons.
KL Rahul returned to the playing XI after missing the previous ODI due to illness, while Arshdeep Singh and Prince Yadav were also included. India opted for a pace-dominant attack, with Axar Patel serving as the lone specialist spinner.
“We were looking to play four seamers at this ground,” Gill said, adding that he would have batted first. “We saw spinners don’t offer as much through the middle overs as the seamers.”
England Eye Rare ODI Series Win Over India To Ease Pressure On McCullum
A victory for England would seal just their eighth bilateral ODI series win over India in 22 attempts and ease some of the pressure on head coach Brendon McCullum, who stepped down as the team’s Test coach last week.
For India, the match could signal the end of an era. Reports during the second ODI suggested that this might be Rohit Sharma’s final international appearance. Leading India to their first win at Lord’s since 2004 and clinching the series would provide the ideal farewell.
Playing XI:
England: Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Adil Rashid
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (capt), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
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