India vs England, 3rd Test: Visitors elect to bat
England have won the toss and elected to bat in the third Test (Day/Night) at the newly-built Narendra Modi Stadium. The four-match series is presently leveled at 1-1 after India staged a comeback victory in the second Test. Now, the two teams are gearing up to win the pink-ball encounter. Joe Root will hope his team scores the desired runs. Here is more.
The new Motera Stadium makes its debut
The newly-constructed Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, which is deemed the world's biggest cricket stadium, is set to host pink-ball encounter. Notably, it has a seating capacity of 1,10,000 after the reconstruction. The Motera Stadium, also known as the Sardar Patel Stadium is equipped with a number of contemporary facilities. As per reports, the wicket here will likely assist the spinners.
A milestone Test for Ishant Sharma
Senior bowler Ishant Sharma has become just the 11th pacer to feature in 100 Test matches. He is only the second Indian seamer after the great Kapil Dev to have achieved this milestone. The only fast bowlers with this achievement so far are James Anderson, Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, Stuart Broad, Dev, Shaun Pollock, Wasim Akram, Makhaya Ntini, Ian Botham, and Chaminda Vaas.
ICC WTC: A must-win encounter for England
The Day/Night encounter is of huge significance, considering the ICC World Test championship scenario. This will be a must-win encounter for England as a defeat will end their chances of making it to the WTC final. Meanwhile, the hosts need to win one of the two Tests in order to claim qualification. They also can't afford to lose another Test.
