Oval| With more than a year left for the ODI World Cup which is scheduled to be played in India in 2023, India's hunt to put a core group in place will continue through the three ODIs that they are scheduled to play against England. With Eoin Morgan bowing out of international cricket, the leadership duties have now been bestowed upon Jos Buttler and it is expected that the hosts will go out all guns blazing. The visitors have to play out of their skin if they want to clinch the series and emerge victorious against this dominant English side.
Indian stalwart Shikar Dhawan returns and Virat Kohli has been rested due to a niggle. Rohit won the toss and decided to bowl first.
"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", said Rohit at the toss.
However, Buttler, who is taking over as England's white-ball captain after Eoin Morgan didn't look too worried about losing the toss either.
"We would have done the same thing, we would have bowled first. I am learning a lot about myself, and my role. Looking forward to the ODI series, it has been a great learning experience. It's great to welcome those guys back. They (Root, Bairstow, Stokes) are a few of the best players in the world. There are a lot of selfless guys in the team, that will be the same today", said Buttler.
Teams:
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
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
