India vs England, Pink-Ball Test: Joe Root elects to bat at Narendra Modi Stadium; Ishant Sharma felicitated

Ahmedabad, February 24: England captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the third Test match on Wednesday (February 24) in Ahmedabad which is a pink-ball Test.

England made four changes to their playing eleven from the one that featured in the second Test match in Chennai. While India made a couple of changes for the game.

After winning the toss, Joe Root said, "We are gonna bat first. Hopefully, we will get a big score like the first Test. Hoping the wicket will dry out as the game goes along. It is certainly harder and seems to swing more compared to the red ball. We are very excited to be here 1-1 and are looking to do well. Four changes. (James) Anderson, (Jofra) Archer, (Jonny) Bairstow, (Zak) Crawley back in. (Rory) Burns, (Dan) Lawrence, (Olly) Stone, Moeen Ali out."

India captain Kohli also said he would have elected to bat had he won the toss. "We would have batted first as well. We would look to get into the game early on. The practice wickets have been quite spicy. Something that we have enjoyed as a team. It is such an exciting atmosphere here at the largest cricket stadium. I am a bit worried about the lights. We have played in a similar stadium in Dubai. You need to adapt pretty quickly. Bumrah comes in for Siraj and Washington Sundar comes in for Kuldeep Yadav. We wanted to have a spinning option and Washi provides a lot with the bat as well. And having a cushion with the bat helps especially in this situation when we bat second as the game could be evened out after the first innings," said Kohli.

.@ImIshant was felicitated by the Honourable President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind & Honourable Home Minister of India Shri Amit Shah before the start of play here in Ahmedabad.@rashtrapatibhvn @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/7elMWDa9ye

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2021

In a stark contrast between the two teams, India are playing with three spinners and the English are playing with three genuine seamers and fast-bowling all-rounder Ben Stokes in the Day/Night Test.

Toss Update!

England have won the toss & elected to bat against #TeamIndia in the third @Paytm #INDvENG Test.

Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/mdTZmt9WOu pic.twitter.com/dfXBK8XPCn

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2021

Meanwhile, senior India pacer Ishant Sharma was presented with a memento and a special cap by the President of India in honour of his 100th Test match. The Delhi cricketer became only the second India seamer to appear in his 100th Test after legendary Kapil Dev.

Playing XIs:

England: Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root(c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes(w), Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.