Ahmedabad Showdown: England Wins Toss Chooses to Bowl First – Can India Set a Massive Total

Ahmedabad, Feb 12 , 2025: England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to field first against India in the third ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.

India made two alterations to their playing XI, resting senior players Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami, while Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out due to a sore calf.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma mentioned that the team was inclined to bat first regardless of the toss outcome, aiming to build on their previous victory. “Our fielding has been top-notch, and the youngsters are displaying great promise. We want to keep the pressure off them and let them express themselves freely,” Rohit stated.

On the other hand, Buttler believed that bowling first could provide an advantage, especially with spin likely to play a role later in the game. “We batted first in the opening two matches, so this will be a different challenge ahead of the Champions Trophy,” Buttler commented.

The pitch is expected to behave similarly to the one used in the World Cup final, with black soil assisting spinners as the game progresses. The boundaries stand at 66m square and 74m straight. Cricket experts Deep Dasgupta and Graeme Swann observed that the surface might start slow but could improve for batting later, with dew potentially influencing the second innings.

India will look to make the most of Rohit Sharma’s excellent form after his century in the previous match. However, concerns remain over Virat Kohli’s recent dip in runs and the absence of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is sidelined due to a lower back injury.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.

England: Philip Salt (wk), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Tom Banton, Liam Livingstone, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood.