• Home
  • Match Hub
  • Ben Stokes Co To Bat First In 1St Test Vs India Axar Joins Ashwin Jadeja In Spin Attack

Ben Stokes & Co. To Bat First In 1st Test Vs India; Axar Joins Ashwin, Jadeja In Spin Attack

image-lrsny42rRohit & Stokes at toss time (X.com)

England’s red-ball skipper Ben Stokes won the toss in the first Test of the five-match series in Hyderabad, and, without any second thought, decided to bat first against Rohit Sharma-led India.

While England confirmed their playing XI on Wednesday (January 24), Rohit announced it after losing the toss on Thursday morning. The hosts, however, did not make any surprise moves, with Axar Patel getting the nod ahead of Kuldeep Yadav to join the prolific spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin.



Apart from Axar, India, who won't have Virat Kohli in the first two fixtures, included both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in their middle order, with KS Bharat taking up the wicket-keeping duties. Shubman Gill, who had a miserable series in South Africa lately, will continue to bat at No. 3, whereas Yashasvi Jaiswal will partner Rohit at the top.

Among the fast bowlers, there was no surprise either, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj being chosen as the pair of pacers.


IND vs ENG 1st Test Playing 11s

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat(WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach