New Delhi: India and England kick off their campaign in the new World Test Championship as the Three Lions host the Indian team in a five-match Test series. England have won the toss and have opted to bowl first in the first Test at Leeds.
The Test match marks the beginning of India’s new era in Test cricket as Shubham Gill leads the Men in Blue following the Test retirement of Rohit Sharma.
The two teams are wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the Test in memory of and respect for the Ahmedabad plane crash victims on June 12. Before the match, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had confirmed the same in a statement.
“Both teams will wear black armbands on Day 1 of the Test match as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the Air India plane crash last week in Ahmedabad. A moment’s silence will be observed before the respective national anthems,” the ECB had said in a statement.
Ahead of the action, the teams observed a moment of silence to mourn the loss of lives in the horrific crash.
Meanwhile, England opted to bowl first after winning the toss. “We’ll bowl. Headingley is a very good cricket wicket. We’ve had some really good games here. Want to try and use the early conditions. Been a long time coming, bit strange that this is just the second series, but we’re ready. It’s been mixed, some lads have played county cricket, and we’ve had three days of really good cricket. Usual suspects in the top seven, Woakes, Brydon, Bashir, Tongue, and I make up the bowling,” England captain Ben Stokes said at the toss.
Meanwhile, India skipper Gill confirmed that he also wanted to bowl first. “Would’ve bowled first as well, might be a bit tough in the first session but it should be good to bat on later. The sun is out, should be a good batting deck for us. Preparation has been amazing, we played a practice game in Beckenham, the lads are feeling great. Sai makes his debut, Karun comes in. Sai will bat at three,” Gill said at the toss.
