England wins toss, opt to bat against India in first ODI at Edgbaston as Kohli returns to ODI team
Birmingham, July 14
England are batting first in the first ODI of the three-match series at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday.
The Shubman Gill-led side will try to start their ODI series with a big win at Edgbaston as many senior players have returned.
Men in Blue are entering the match with three proper seamers -- Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar, and a medium-pacer -- Shivam Dube, who is playing his first ODI after almost two years.
Virat Kohli is returning to international cricket after almost seven months. He missed the home ODI series against Afghanistan due to a leg injury.
The Three Lions had already announced their playing XI a day before the match and made no changes to it.
At the toss, England skipper Harry Brook said, "We're gonna have a bat today. Looks like a good surface, don't quite know what's gonna happen, but we fancy our chances with the bat first. Hopefully, we can get a little bit of spin in the second innings."
Indian skipper Shubman Gill said, "We're looking to bowl first. Well, I think most of the boys have been playing the T20S, and the rest of the boys got a bit of rest; I had a bit of training. Got here a couple of days before, so we were practising. So the environment, the vibe has been really good."
On the return of the senior players, he said, "Yeah, definitely most of the seniors are back. We have got Virat Bhai, Rohit Bhai, KL and Boom back in the squad. So the experience is going to be massive for us."
England (Playing XI): Jacob Bethell, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook(c), Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, Josh Tongue, Adil Rashid
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As an England fan, I'm excited to see Brook's aggressive approach. But India's experience with Kohli and Rohit back is massive for them. This is a balanced contest—England's batting depth vs India's bowling quality. Root vs Bumrah could be the key battle today. 🏏
So happy to see Virat back! 🇮🇳 But honestly, I'm a bit skeptical about playing Shivam Dube after two years in ODIs. He hasn't played much international cricket lately. Would've preferred a pure batter like Sanju Samson or another specialist bowler. Let's hope he proves me wrong! 🤞
England batting first is a smart move—they have the firepower to set a big total. But India's bowling attack looks really balanced with left-arm (Axar) and right-arm options. The real test will be how our spinners, especially Sundar and Patel, perform on this track. If they can contain Root and Buttler, we have a good chance. 🏏
Great to see international cricket back at Edgbaston! India's team selection is interesting—they've gone with three pacers plus Dube's medium pace. But I wonder if they'll miss a genuine fourth seamer if the pitch gets flat. England's batting lineup is very deep, even till No. 8. Should be a cracking match! 🏏
The return of senior players is huge for India's morale. Kohli, Rohit, and Rahul back in
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