England wins toss, bats in 3rd test vs. India

By foxsports
Published

MOHALI, India (AP) England won the toss on Saturday and opted to bat in the third test against India in Mohali.

The hosts have made two changes to their line-up from the second test. Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha is out with a thigh strain, and 31 year old Parthiv Patel has been drafted in.

Karun Nair was named for his test debut ahead of opener Lokesh Rahul.

India continued to pick a five-bowler combination, with Patel slated to open and Nair expected to bat at no.6.

England made three changes to their line-up. Fit-again Chris Woakes replaced the injured Stuart Broad, while Jos Buttler was picked ahead of struggling Ben Duckett.

Off-spinner Gareth Batty came in for left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari, as the visitors retained a six-bowler combination. Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow have been moved up the order and will bat at nos. 4 and 5 respectively.

The pitch at the Punjab Cricket Association bears a dry and cracked look, and should take spin from early in the contest.

The first test in Rajkot had ended in a draw, and the visitors lost the second test in Visakhapatnam by 246 runs. India lead the five-match series 1-0.

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India: Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

England: Alastair Cook, (captain), Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes.