England opt to bowl; India debut Kamboj in three changes

After England captain Ben Stokes won his fourth straight and put India in, Shubman Gill thinks that a combination of a decent batting surface and cloudy overhead circumstances made it a "good toss to lose" in Manchester.

Stokes thinks his team can break the record of no team ever choosing to bowl at Old Trafford and winning a Test match.  He said, "There are pretty decent overhead conditions for bowling," during the toss.  "The wicket is rather hard and has some grass cover, just like a typical Manchester surface.  We're hoping to utilize it this morning. 

India made three changes, two of which were forced, and gave Anshul Kamboj, a seamer for the Chennai Super Kings and Haryana, his Test debut.  After failing to reach 40 in the first three Tests, Karun Nair is replaced at No. 3 by Sai Sudharsan, while Shardul Thakur and Kamboj take the place of Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who are injured.

Gill claimed that he was "a bit confused" about whether he should have bowled or batted first, but he was spared the choice as India suffered their 14th straight defeat in all men's internationals.  Gill remarked, "The way we have played in the last three matches has been outstanding," with the "small crunch moments" being the only factors that separated the sides. 

Two days before the match, England revealed their starting lineup, which included a single, forced alteration from the team that won by 22 runs at Lord's last week.  Shoaib Bashir, who broke his left little finger trying to make a return catch in the third Test, is replaced by Liam Dawson, an all-rounder for Hampshire who is making his first Test appearance in eight years.