England captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat first on a bright morning at the Kennington Oval in London, as England faces India in the fifth and the final Test starting on Friday, September 7, 2018. Incidentally, Root has now won all the tosses in this series.
Live updates:
England 332 & 20/0 * (9.3 ov)
India 292 all-out
England 198/7 - day 1
England won the toss and bat first
Sir Ravindra Jadeja take a bow!
— ICC (@ICC) September 9, 2018
The all-rounder is shepherding the tail expertly, and is currently unbeaten on 86, having unfurled his trademark swashbuckling celebration on reaching 50.
India are 292/9 and trailing by 40.
Follow #ENGvIND live ⬇️https://t.co/LQoNOzv9xA pic.twitter.com/taiALY4mnA
England is leading the five-match Test series 3-1, and have already won the series.
England started the series with a bang, winning the first two matches. India came back well winning the third Test, but England claimed the series winning the fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
Cook to play his last Test
England decided to play an unchanged line-up from the previous match. Johnny Bairstow will return as the wicket-keeper, having not kept wickets in the last Test due to a thumb injury. In addition to this, Root, at the toss, said that Moeen Ali will continue to bat at No.3.
Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali gutted it out for their half-centuries, but the Indian bowlers came back with a bang to end the day on a high! 💪🏻#KyaHogaIssBaar #ENGvIND 5th Test LIVE on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 3. #SPNSports pic.twitter.com/S7iZN0eoQa
— SPN- Sports (@SPNSportsIndia) September 7, 2018
As reported by Cricbuzz, Root justified his decision of batting first by saying that he feels the two English spinners will come in handy later in the match.
The Oval Test will be the last appearance for the English opening batsman, Alastair Cook. The prolific batsman has played 160 Tests and scored 12,254 runs at an average of 44.89 with 32 centuries.
Vihari makes his debut as Jadeja comes in
Virat Kohli made two changes to his side from the last game. According to the Cricbuzz, Kohli after the toss said that Ravichandran Ashwin has not gained full fitness and will be replaced by Ravindra Jadeja. Kohli also confirmed that 24-year-old Hanuma Vihari will make his Test debut.
6⃣ wickets in the final session brought about some happy Indian faces, and lots of Bhangra! 😆
— SPN- Sports (@SPNSportsIndia) September 7, 2018
Goodnight! 😀#KyaHogaIssBaar #ENGvIND #SPNSports pic.twitter.com/8ncf7Hvh4T
Vihari will replace Hardik Pandya in the XI.
The Indian skipper during the toss praised Cook for his outstanding career. As the live blog on Cricbuzz suggests, Kohli said that he believes that Cook will go down as one of the greatest openers in Test cricket.
The pitch at the Oval had a decent cover of grass on it, but there are chances that it is a bit dry inside. Though there was bright sun at the time of the toss, it was quite a cold morning.
Read: India vs England 4th Test live cricket streaming on Sony Six at 3 PM IST on Thursday
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