India vs England 5th test: England wins toss, opts to bat first

London: England have opted to bat after winning the toss.

For India, Hanuma Vihari makes his Test debut, coming in place of Hardik Pandya.

All eyes will be on England’s Alastair Cook as he prepares to bid adieu to international cricket when the hosts take on Virat Kohli-led India in the fifth Test starting at The Oval on Friday.

Cook, who will play his 161st and final Test, recently announced that the upcoming Test would be his last international game.

Meanwhile, with Joe Root and co already having sealed the series 3-1, the visitors will play for pride and hope to sign off the tour on a high.

Despite coming close in the previous Test at Southampton, England bowlers were too good for the visitors as they are still in search for a first Test series win in England since 2007.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting if Hanuma Vihari gets a game ahead of Hardik Pandya. Vihari is yet to make his international debut.

Squad:

England: Joe Root(Captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow(wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Ollie Pope

India: Virat Kohli(Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Hanuma Vihari, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Shardul Thakur, , Prithvi Shaw.