India vs England 4th Test: Toss Update: Hosts win, bowl first; Umesh, Shardul come in for Kohli's side

London, September 2: The fourth Test between India and England are crucial for both the teams as they are currently tied 1-1 after three matches. A win at the Oval will give them a 2-1 edge, going to Manchester for the final Test.

England took a baby step to the fourth Test on Thursday (September 2) at the Oval, winning toss and asking India to bat first.

India made two changes as Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami were rested because of niggles and picked up Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur. And that meant, there is no place for veteran spinner R Ashwin.

England made also made two changes bringing in Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes.

Playing 11

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (Captain), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.

Captains speak

Virat Kohli: "We would have bowled first as well but toss isn't something you can control. We need to be prepared for either. We're looking forward to putting runs on the board. Two changes - Ishant and Shami have niggles - Umesh and Shardul are back.

"For us, it's about partnerships, we can't focus too much on individuals. The opening partnerships have been good, it's about getting more partnerships. We got a few days left on this tour, the series is poised nicely and there is going to be no shortage of effort from our side."

Joe Root: We're going to bowl first. Going to make use of the overhead conditions. Looks like a good morning for bowling, we need to still hit the right lines and lengths, like we did at Headingley.

"We've got two changes - Ollie Pope in for Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes comes in for Sam Curran. Chris (Woakes) knows his body well and we all know about his performances. It does feel (No 1 Test batsman in ICC Rankings) nice but obviously has no standing on this game."