IND vs ENG Test Match: Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul made England sweat for much of the first session but the visitors came roaring back right at the end of it with two quick wickets. Brydon Carse first broke the opening stand by dismissing Rahul for 42 in 78 balls. In the next over, Ben Stokes strangled Sai Sudharsan down the leg side and the latter fell for a duck on his Test debut. That was also the last ball of the session.
Rahul and Jaiswal looked largely unperturbed throughout the first session. Rahul in particular picked up pace after the drinks break, having been the more watchful of the two before that. The pair were largely unperturbed in the first hour of the first session and eventually eased past the 50-run mark in their opening partnership. Shubman Gill lost his first toss as India’s Test captain and admitted that he would’ve chosen to bowl first as well. He confirmed that Sai Sudharsan is making his debut and Karun Nair is back in the Indian squad.
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A fresh chapter in the India-England Test rivalry will begin as the visitors draw themselves into a new era under Shubman Gill’s leadership, facing Ben Stokes’ Bazballers in the first match at Headingley, Leeds on Friday. While the hosts have named their XI, discussions are aplenty around India’s side for the Test. With Gill firm on his idea of requiring 20 wickets to win matches in such devious conditions, it will be interesting to see if India will shed their general tendencies to rely on ‘bits and pieces’ players. The batters who can bowl or bowlers who can bat have formed the lower-middle order for the side overseas in recent years, with India majorly carrying only one of Mohammed Shami or Jasprit Bumrah due to injuries or other concerns.
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The trend was also followed in Australia, when India relied on Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fourth seamer. Similar situations could arise in England with the return of Shardul Thakur to the Test fold for the first time since 2023. With the sun unusually beating down hard on a proposed Leeds flatbed, it would be curious to see if India continue to invest in two seam all-rounders or take a calculated gamble with a Kuldeep Yadav inclusion.
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Reference
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