Playing cricket for the country is special, but playing Tests for the country – the purest form of the game – is even more special. When B Sai Sudharsan became the 317th player to represent India in Test matches on June 20, this is what transpired. Veteran Test hitter Cheteshwar Pujara gave Sudharsan his cap. Sudharsan has already represented the Men in Blue in ODIs and T20Is.
The coin toss took place immediately following the cap presentation ceremony, with English captain Ben Stokes winning the toss and asking the tourists to bat first. Shubman Gill, the captain of India, stated that while he would have like to bowl first as well, he also thought it was a fantastic chance for the youthful team to set a high standard and lead by example in the first innings. In addition to back-in-favour Karun Nair, Gill revealed that his GT opening partner Sudharsan would bat at No. 3.
From one gritty No. 3 to another 💫
A moment of pride for Sai Sudharsan 🧢#SonySportsNetwork #GroundTumharaJeetHamari #ENGvIND #NayaIndia #DhaakadIndia #TeamIndia | @sais_1509 pic.twitter.com/GIw8Ci3sV9
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) June 20, 2025Ben Stokes, the English captain, won the coin toss and asked the tourists to bat first immediately following the cap presentation ceremony. Although he would have like to bowl first as well, India skipper Shubman Gill stated that he thought it was a fantastic chance for the youthful team to set a high standard and lead by example in the first innings. Gill indicated that Sudharsan, his GT opening partner, would bat at number three, while Karun Nair, his archrival, also entered the game.
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England, on the other hand, had already announced their playing XI a few mornings before the game. In order to lead the pace battery, captain Stokes summoned back seasoned player Chris Woakes, who was joined by Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue. The only spinner is Shoaib Bashir, and the wicketkeeper is Jamie Smith.
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
