India captain Shubman Gill had a brainfade moment at the toss for the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval. As England put India to bat, Ravi Shastri asked Gill to confirm the number of changes made by the visitors. While Gill confirmed that Karun Nair, Prasidh Krishna and Dhruv Jurel have been included in the playing, he forgot to mention that pacer Akash Deep is also included in place of Anshul Kamboj, who made his Test debut in the previous game at Old Trafford, Manchester.
"Don't mind losing the toss as long as we win the game. Was a bit confused yesterday about what to do, was a bit overcast but the wicket looks good, we'll look to post good runs in the first innings. Should be a good pitch for the bowlers. We look to win every game. We have come close in every game and it is about the extra five or 10 per cent, so boys will be giving it their all. We have made three changes," said Gill.
Bumrah and fellow paceman Anshul Kamboj were replaced by the fit-again Akash Deep, who took 10 wickets in India's third-Test win at Edgbaston, and Prasidh Krishna.
Middle-order batsman Karun Nair came in for all-rounder Shardul Thakur and Dhruv Jurel took over as wicketkeeper after Rishabh Pant suffered a broken foot batting in Manchester.
Overcast skies and a green-tinged pitch encouraged Pope to field first on his Surrey home ground in conditions promising to favour fast bowlers as England won the toss for the fifth time in as many matches this series despite the change in captain.
"We're going to have a bowl first," said Pope at the toss. "There's a bit more grass in it this week, overcast conditions, it's a no brainer to bowl first."
(With AFP Inputs)
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