AHMEDABAD: England captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat in the fourth and final Test against India in Ahmedabad today.
The tourists strengthened their spin department by recalling off-spinner Dom Bess. Batsman Dan Lawrence was also recalled, while quicks Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad were dropped.
“It will start spinning at some point, probably quite soon. So it’s important we make the most of it and try and get a good score on the board,” Root said.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to finish what has been a very successful winter if we win this game.”
For India, Mohammed Siraj replaced pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah who skipped the match over personal reasons.
“We’d have batted first as well, quite a no-brainer,” home captain Virat Kohli said.
“Getting runs on the board on a pitch like this which looks good to bat on day one, surely would have batted.”
The hosts, 2-1 up in the series, need a draw to secure their place in the June final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj
England: Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (captain), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Dan Lawrence, Dom Bess, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson
