England opt to bat first in third test v India

LONDON :England won the toss and will bat first in the third test against India at Lord's on Thursday under sunny skies at the home of cricket and conditions that should favour the batsmen.

India's crushing 336-run victory in the second test at Edgbaston levelled the series at 1-1 after England won the first match at Headingley by five wickets.

England recalled fast bowler Jofra Archer for his first test appearance in more than four years in place of Josh Tongue.

India brought back paceman Jasprit Bumrah, the world's top-ranked bowler who was rested for the second test as he manages a back injury, to replace Prasidh Krishna.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj