India v England, Third Test, Day 1 Live: Root elects to bat first; Bumrah, Washington return
Follow live updates from day one of the third Test between India and England at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Live updates
After 2 overs, ENG are 0/0 (Crawley 0, Sibley 0)
And a maiden over first up for Bumrah too. Superb bowling from the right-arm quick, who is playing his first Test at his home ground. He keeps it outside off to the right-handed Sibley and moves it both ways wonderfully.
Are we absolutely certain one side has got it horribly wrong here, or might they both have chosen their own percentage attack in uncertain conditions?
— Rory Dollard (@thervd) February 24, 2021
After 1 over, ENG are 0/0 (Crawley 0, Sibley 0)
Maiden over to start off! Ishant keeps it outside off to Crawley and gets a hint of movement. The pitch behaving a little up and down already – the first ball shot up but there was one later that bounced in front of Rishabh Pant. Jasprit Bumrah to begin proceedings from the other end.
2:30 pm: And we’re ready for play at the Motera Stadium! Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley are at the crease. Ishant Sharma, playing his 100th Test, has the new pink ball in hand. Here we go!
2:27 pm: The players are out on the field, it’s time for the national anthems. First up it’s England.
Clearly the teams have read this surface and the conditions differently. England playing the extra quick bowler while India has lengthened the batting and has an extra spin option
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 24, 2021
Ishant Sharma today became the 70th player to appear in 100 Test matches
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 24, 2021
He is now the second tallest cricketer to play in 100 Test matches!
Who then is the tallest?#INDvsENG #INDvENG #DayNightTest
Zak Crawley returns to open the batting for England, but in his short career so far he's prospered at No.3. He averages 35.31 when opening the batting in first-class cricket, but 83.00 at No.3 - albeit from just six innings. His career high 267 came at first drop. #INDvENG
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) February 24, 2021
What an achievement to play 100 Tests for India as a pacer. Ishant Sharma truly deserves all the love coming his way.
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) February 24, 2021
2:19 pm: Interesting selections by both teams. While England have gone in with one spinner – Jack Leach – India have chosen three. The pink ball is expected to assist pacers but India have backed a spinner-heavy bowling attack. Do you think it’s the right call?
Settling in for another day of working from home with #INDvENG #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/TjIyoBxomY
— Dave Aloo (@DaveAloo) February 24, 2021
HM @AmitShah Ji addressing the inaugural ceremony of world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.https://t.co/EIWcwSkipM
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 24, 2021
2:07 pm: Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (w), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.
England: Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (w), Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
Toss Update!
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2021
England have won the toss & elected to bat against #TeamIndia in the third @Paytm #INDvENG Test.
Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/mdTZmt9WOu pic.twitter.com/dfXBK8XPCn
Toss news from Ahmedabad 🗞️
— ICC (@ICC) February 24, 2021
England opt to bat first in the pink-ball Test.#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/IqiZpD0sEk
2:04 pm: Two changes for India: Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar are in for Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav.
2:02 pm: England are going in with four changes: James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley return to the playing XI.
2:00 pm: Joe Root has won the toss and England will BAT first!
I'm actually glad that the surface at Motera doesn't have the usual covering of grass we see in #PinkBallTests . At some point, we have to find out about how it will hold up in different conditions.
— Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) February 24, 2021
Makes team combinations much more difficult though.
1:58 pm: We’re just minutes away from the toss in Ahmedabad! The captains might not admit it but they’ll be very, very keen to win it.
All set for the day/night Test? Such a big match for both teams! With fans also allowed, will be a spectacle in these hard times
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) February 24, 2021
1:55 pm: Wondering how the pink ball is different from the others? Here are the details from SG’s chief ball inspector.
1:52 pm: Here’s all you need to know about the newly-built Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad:
In pictures: A look at the world’s largest cricket stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad
#Motera #Cricket
— The Field (@thefield_in) February 24, 2021
Did the Sardar Patel stadium need to be renamed as the Narendra Modi stadium?
What do you think?
Motera in all readiness 😍
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2021
Just a few hours left for the #PinkBallTest #INDvENG @Paytm
ARE YOU READY 😎👌🏻 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/EdyGsLlQws
Who else is excited to watch @ImIshant play his 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th Test 🔝😎 #TeamIndia #INDvENG @Paytm pic.twitter.com/kgj5PLeBQs
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2021
MOOD😃😁 @Paytm #TeamIndia #INDvENG #PinkBallTest pic.twitter.com/ndRr3SSZKG
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2021
1.38 pm: The first big news of the day is that the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad has been renamed from Sardar Patel Stadium to Narendra Modi Stadium. Read all about it here.
Ready for the hustle 👌#TeamIndia get into the huddle ahead of the third @Paytm #INDvENG Test! 👍 pic.twitter.com/NMwY2l1KSn
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2021
1:31 pm: Hello and welcome to live updates from day one of the third Test between India and England at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The four-match series is tied at 1-1 as we head into the day-night match at the newly-built Motera Stadium. The pink ball contest is set to bring more challenges to Virat Kohli and Joe Root’s teams, this promises to be another cracking Test!