As was expected, the Shubman Gill-led Indian team made three big changes for the 4th Test against England in Manchester. While the team had to replace the injured duo of Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy, skipper Gill also announced an unforced change in the form of Karun Nair, who was replaced by B Sai Sudharsan for the must-win contest. Nair had struggled to score runs in the first three matches of the series. Hence, the management decided that it was time to give other players an opportunity. 

It was England captain Ben Stokes who won the toss and opted to bowl first. Stokes said after the toss: “We’re going to have a bowl. Decent overhead conditions for bowling. We’ve had a good break in between. Good chance for everyone to head back home and get the batteries recharged. Everyone left everything out on the field at Lord’s.

“We’ve had three games go down to the final session, which says a lot about the quality of the teams. Typical Manchester wicket. Quite firm. Some grass. Dawson back in the team – long time since the last Test but he’s gone well over the years.”

Gill was happy to lose the toss as he was confused whether to bat first or bowl. The skipper confirmed that Nair was dropped for Sudharsan, owing to poor form, for the match. Already 33, questions over his future in the longest format do arise because of this decision.

“I was actually confused. Good toss to lose. The way we’ve played in the last three Tests has been outstanding. Some crunch moments we’ve lost, but we’ve won more sessions than them. You need a bit of a break. All three Tests were intense. Looks like a good surface. There’s some forecast around in the four-five days. Three changes: Sai Sudharsan comes in place of Karun. Kamboj and Shardul are in as well for Akash Deep and Reddy who are injured,” Gill said at the time of toss.

India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer