New Delhi: India fast bowler Ishant Sharma achieved a huge milestone as he was named in the playing XI for the third Test against England at the Motera Stadium (now renamed to Narendra Modi Stadium) in Ahmedabad. The right-arm seamer will be playing his 100th Test, becoming only the second India pacer after Kapil Dev to reach achieve the feat.
Overall, Ishant is only the 11th player to represent India in 100 Tests. The only bowlers in the list include Anil Kumble (132), Kapil Dev (131), Harbhajan Singh (103).
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Meanwhile, India captain Virat Kohli lost the toss as England skipper Joe Root elected to bowl. “We are gonna bat first. Hopefully, we will get a big score like the first Test. Hoping the wicket will dry out as the game goes along,” Root explained the reasons for his choice at the toss.
“It is certainly harder and seems to swing more compared to the red ball. We are very excited to be here 1-1 and are looking to do well. Four changes. Anderson, Archer, Bairstow, Crawley back in. Burns, Lawrence, Stone, Moeen Ali out,” he added.
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Skipper Kohli admitted that he wished to bat after winning toss as well. “We would have batted first as well. We would look to get into the game early on. The practice wickets have been quite spicy. Something that we have enjoyed as a team. It is such an exciting atmosphere here at the largest cricket stadium. I am a bit worried about the lights,” Kohli said.
“We have played in a similar stadium in Dubai. You need to adapt pretty quickly. Bumrah comes in for Siraj and Washington Sundar comes in for Kuldeep Yadav,” he added.
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“We wanted to have a spinning option and Washi provides a lot with the bat as well. And having cushion with the bat helps especially in this situation when we bat second as the game could be evened out after the first innings,” Kohli further said.
