LONDON: India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field against England in the first ODI of the three-match series, at the Kennington Oval here on Tuesday.
India star batter Virat Kohli will be missing out on the first ODI after he sustained a mild groin strain. He has been replaced by batter Shreyas Iyer in the Playing XI.
Speaking at the toss, Rohit said, “We are going to bowl first. There is some grass cover and it’s overcast as well. I guess the Sun will be out in some time. We want to have a score in front of us. Shami, Bumrah – those guys can swing the ball. It’s important to take wickets up front and put brakes on the scoring. We understand the importance of playing overseas, we want to do well outside India. Today is no different. We have five batters and two all-rounders. Kohli is not playing this game, Shreyas will bat at 3.”
Meanwhile, England skipper Jos Buttler said, “We would have done the same thing, we would have bowled first. I am learning a lot about myself, and about my role. Looking forward to the ODI series, it has been a learning experience. It’s great to welcome those guys back. They are few of the best players in the world. There are a lot of selfless guys in the team, that will be exactly the same today.”
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna.
England Playing XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Craig Overton, David Willey, Brydon Carse, Reece Topley. (ANI)