There’s another Test going on at the Waca, and Australia – specifically Darcie Brown – have made a flying start.
India v England: third Test, day one – live
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We almost certainly won’t see Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett bat until tomorrow, but give this a read anyway – it’s very good.
India have made four changes in all. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj, who were injured and rested respectively at Vizag, come in for Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar.
India Jaiswal, Rohit (c), Gill, Sarfaraz, Patidar, Jadeja, Jurel (wk), Ashwin, Kuldeep, Siraj, Bumrah.
England Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes (c), Foakes (wk), Rehan, Hartley, Wood, Anderson.
It’s never good to lose the toss in India, but this might not be the worst game in which to bowl first. There might be a little bit in the pitch for Jimmy Anderson this morning, and the consensus from those on the ground is that the pitch – which looks a belter – won’t break up completely. Still, you’d rather be batting first.
“We’d have batted first, that’s what you do in India when you win the toss,” says Ben Stokes. “The series is nicely balanced, it’s a fair reflection. We’re refreshed after a break and we’re looking forward to the battle this week.”
India have two more debutants in this game: Sarfaraz Khan, a 26-year-old with a first-class average of – get those exclamations marks ready - 69.85, and the wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. They replace Shreyas Iyer and and KS Bharat, who kept beautifully in the first two Tests but scored a modest 92 runs in four innings. We’re still waiting to hear who Ravindra Jadeja will replace.
England named their team yesterday, with one change from Vizag: Mark Wood in, Shoaib Bashir out.
Say hello to #TeamIndia's Test Debutants 👋
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 15, 2024
Congratulations Dhruv Jurel & Sarfaraz Khan 👏👏
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/FM0hVG5X8M#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/OVPtvLXH0V
Ali Martin’s preview
Hello and welcome to live coverage of India v England at Rajkot. The third day of a Test match is often described as “moving day”, because it’s often when an evenly matched game begins to move decisively in one direction. The contest we are about to enjoy, the third in a five-match series, might be a a rare example of a moving Test.
It’s only the fourth time this century that a five-Test series has been 1-1 after two games. A draw is almost impossible, even on what should be the best batting pitch of the series, so one of these teams will almost certainly move within touchign distance of a series victory.
It’s too early to imagine it might be England, because a series win away to India – even an under-strength India – would be almost too joyous to bear. But just imagine if it’s England.