Ind vs Eng, 3rd ODI: Visitors opt to field, Natarajan replaces Kuldeep
Pune: England stand-in skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to field first against India in the third and final ODI here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Sunday.
India has made on change in the playing XI, bringing T Natarajan in place of Kuldeep Yadav. The visitors have also made one change in their playing XI. Mark Wood has replaced Tom Curran.
Down 1-0, England made a thrilling comeback in the ODI series as the visitors had registered a crushing six-wicket win over India on Friday. After conceding the game from an advantageous position, Virat Kohli and boys will now look to make amends in the series-deciding.
At the toss, Buttler said: “We’re bowling first, for similar reasons. Very proud of the performance the other day, and it showed our passion. It’s important to continue playing the brand of cricket that we played last time. It’s been a fantastic tour with some great matches, and we’re desperate to win. Mark Wood in for Tom Curran.”
India skipper Virat Kohli said: “I would’ve bowled first again, but it seems like the toss is completely out of my control right now. It’s a hard pitch and has some grass covering. We’ve introspected and identified a few areas that we need to improve on, put up 20-30 more runs with the bat and put up a better show with the ball. Our best cricket has come out when our backs have been against the wall – Test series, after being one down and the same in T20s, afer being 1-2 down. We have to be at our best today to win the decider. We have a tactical change: Natarajan comes in for Kuldeep Yadav.”
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, T Natarajan.
England Playing XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
