India is set to extend their winning spree as they face off against England in the 29th game of the ODI World Cup 2023, scheduled for Sunday, October 29, at Lucknow's Ekana Stadium.
Having showcased dominant performances with five consecutive wins, India stands poised to climb to the top of the points table with another victory. On the other hand, England's journey has been challenging, with four defeats in five games, placing them at the table's lower end with just two points and a net run rate of -1.634.
With a lot at stake at both ends of the points table for India and England, Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bowl first. This will be the first time that the home team will be batting first in the ongoing tournament.
India's Playing XI
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England's Playing XI
Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
What the captains said?
“We wanted to bat first, we have had a good time batting second. It’s a good surface, it has played well for the 100 overs. It’s quite important to think like that and is also important to play well. We have played some good cricket. It's always good to have a break. It's nice to come back here and get back into business. We are playing the same team we played in the last game,” Rohit Sharma said after losing the toss.
"We are going to bowl first today. Not anything in particular, it's a gut decision. It's a great occasion and hopefully, today we bring our best. Today, we want to put up a good show. We haven't done ourselves justice, today we want to put up a show and play for pride. Playing in front of a full crowd and against India, it's a great occasion," was what the England skipper said.
Pitch report
“This does look like a Wankhede stadium track of the 80s and 90s. It’s the fourth game at this venue and we can already see some wear and tear and some dry patches, spinners will come into play. Under lights, batting will get easier. Quality spinners will come into play. I think it will spin, it is about how much and when. India are more dangerous when there’s a bit of spin. If it spins, it will bring Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali into play. If it’s a good pitch and it turns a bit, then India will be favourites. It looks like a decent pitch,” opined Ravi Shastri and Nasser Hussain.
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