England have won the toss and skipper Joe Root has opted to bat first in the first Test of this blockbuster series. India have dropped Cheteshwar Pujara in place of KL Rahul.
There had been a lot of speculation about the make-up of India’s playing XI for the opening Test against England. In the end, India fielded a side comprising of four fast bowlers and just one spinner.
Perhaps the bigger talking point was the exclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara, with India preferring K L Rahul for his spot at number three behind the established opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan & Murali Vijay.
Pujara has endured a dry patch of late and failed in both innings of the warm-up match as well.
