Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 1: England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to field in the rescheduled fifth Test match in Birmingham. Shubman Gill was dismissed by James Anderson early on. To get rid of Cheteshwar Pujara, who stole it from Zak Crawley in the slips, the seasoned seamer struck again. Before the first session was stopped by the rain, Virat Kohli joined Hanuma Vihari.
Early lunch was stopped due to rain, and the final score was 53/2. India, captained by Jasprit Bumrah, selected Shardul Thakur in lieu of off-spinner Ashwin and put Pujara and youthful Gill at the top of the order. Jamie Overton was replaced by Anderson in the England squad. Bumrah will be eager to demonstrate his leadership skills as he captains India against a significantly stronger competition.
Notably, Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who was ruled out on Thursday after contracting Covid-19, has been replaced by Bumrah. The match is a part of the five-match Test series from last year that had to be postponed following the fourth Test because to an outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian camp. India is close to winning their first Test series in England since 2007 as they lead the series 2-1.
