India, England wear black armbands to pay tribute to those who lost lives in Air India plane crash

LEEDS: On the opening day of the first Test of the five-match series at Headingley for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, India and England sported black armbands as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad last week.

On June 12, the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed into a hostel complex shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, killing 241 passengers and crew, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. One passenger, Vishwas Kumar, survived the tragic incident.

A touching tribute at the India vs England 1st Test

Teams observed a minute of silence before the anthems for the Ahmedabad tragedy.

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England Cricket took to social media and confirmed, “Both teams will wear black armbands today as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the Air India plane crash. Out thoughts are with all those affected by the terrible events that took place in Ahmedabad last week.”

Coming to the toss, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bowl against India. Sai Sudharsan has become India’s Test cap number 317. The towering 23-year-old southpaw received his maiden Test cap from India stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara. Meanwhile, once a forgotten star, Karun Nair earned a place back on the Indian team for the first time in eight years.

After winning the toss, England captain Ben Stokes said, “We’ll bowl. Headingley is a very good cricket wicket. We’ve had some really good games here. Want to try to use the early conditions. Been a long time coming, but it’s a bit strange that this is just the second series, but we’re ready. It’s been mixed, some lads have played county cricket, we’ve had three days of really good cricket. Usual suspects in the top seven, Woakes, Brydon and the rest.”

During the toss, India Test captain Shubman Gill said, “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, so it should be a good batting deck for us. Preparation has been amazing, we played a practice game in Beckenham, and the lads are feeling great. Sai makes his debut, and Karun comes in. Sai will bat at three.”

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)