England :- England skipper Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bowl first in the third Test against India at Birmingham on Wednesday.
The match marks the return of opener Virender Sehwag after a lengthy lay-off because of a shoulder injury.
India's reputation of being fearsome fighters that has been steadily built over the last decade will undergo the sternest test over the next five days as they prepare to deny England what they would hope is their tryst with destiny.
Indian skipper MS Dhoni also supported his counterpart for the decision saying that if he had won the toss, he would have bowled first too due to the initial movement offered by the pitch. He said, “We would`ve bowled as well, given the conditions. We believe in ourselves, we have been under pressure in India as well as outside so the experience counts. Sehwag is a dynamic cricketer, given the way he plays. But we won`t put pressure on him, he will just play his natural game.”
Teams:
England:
AN Cook, AJ Strauss (capt), IR Bell, KP Pietersen, EJG Morgan, RS Bopara, MJ Prior, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, GP Swann, JM Anderson
India:
V Sehwag, G Gambhir, R Dravid, SR Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (capt), A Mishra, P Kumar, I Sharma, S Sreesanth
Pitch Report: Fair amount of grass on the turf, but it will be on the slower side. It won`t be as fast as the ones at Lord`s and Trent Bridge. There will be lateral movement and it`s quite damp. It`s going to turn says Sourav Ganguly and the cracks are going to widen as the game progresses.
