Ind vs Eng 5th Test Day 1 - England Elect to Bat First; Hanuma Vihari Debuts

1. Ind vs Eng 5th Test Day 1: England elect to bat first; Hanuma Vihari debuts In the backdrop of Ravi Shastri's comment on current Indian cricket team terming it the "best travelling side in last 15-20 years", Kohli would like to play is best possible playing 11 England captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat against India in the fifth and final Test at the Oval in London. Hanuma Vihari became the 292nd Test player to represent India after he was handed his maiden cap. He will replace Hardik Pandya, while Ravindra Jadeja comes in place of R Ashwin in the playing 11. England have already won the Test series, taking a 3-1 lead after winning the fourth Test at Southampton. Here is the playing 11 of both the teams: India playing 11: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

2. England playing 11: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson Ravindra Jadeja to replace R Ashwin? Ravindra Jadeja looks set to play his first Test on tour, with Ravichandran Ashwin not bowling in the nets on Wednesday and moving gingerly as well. While there is no confirmation from the management, it has been reliably learnt that he has aggravated his hip strain and will miss out on the final Test. India Team news Jasprit Bumrah could also be rested keeping in view the Asia Cup beginning next week in the UAE. The pacer, along with Shardul Thakur, is part of India's limited-overs' squad and as such Umesh Yadav could make a comeback into the side. India will be looking to play with their lower-middle order and bowling combinations. With Hardik Pandya failing to impress with the bat, the management could trial Hanuma Vihari in the middle, as he is also a handy spinner. Team India Test record in last 15 years under various captains A statistical lowdown will show that India under Sourav Ganguly's leadership drawn Test series in England (2002) and Australia (2003-04) apart from winning a Test in West Indies (a team that had Brian Lara, Carl Hooper, Shivanarine Chanderpaul) and a series in Pakistan. Under Rahul Dravid, India won twin series in West Indies (2006) and England (2007) apart from winning a Test in South Africa. Under Anil Kumble, India won a Test match on a bouncy Perth for the first time while under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian team won a series in New Zealand and also for the only time drew a series in South Africa. Having lost back to back overseas series in South Africa and England, the myth of being good travellers has been busted and they have not been able to convince that they are good enough to win a series outside sub-continent. Kohli-led side though has retained its number one Test ranking despite series' losses in both overseas tours in 2018 thus far. (more)