London [UK], July 31 : England stand-in captain Ollie Pope won the toss and elected to bowl in the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India at The Oval on Thursday.
The toss was initially delayed due to a slight drizzle, and covers were quickly brought in. However, it passed away quickly, allowing both captains to appear for the toss. The coin spun against India captain Shubman Gill for the fifth consecutive time and forced them to bat under the gloomy sky.
With India trailing 1-2 in the series, the tourists have made four changes. The injured vice-captain Rishabh Pant has been replaced by Dhruv Jurel. The world's best pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, who played his quota of three Tests, has made way for Prasidh Krishna.
Karun Nair, who was dropped in the fourth fixture in Manchester, has returned to the side in all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Anshul Kamboj, who made his debut at Old Trafford, has been dropped for Akash Deep.
England too are missing vital cogs in their final XI, with captain Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, tearaway Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson sitting out of the fifth Test.
After winning the toss, England stand-in captain Ollie Pope said, "We'll bowl. It's a bit overcast, so it's a no-brainer to have a bowl on this pitch. Lost the captain, but the others are tracking nicely, we've got a few fresh faces as well. We bat deep, Gus Atkinson and Overton have got runs. We're not going to contend with 2:2, we want to go out there and win it."
India captain Shubman Gill, who lost the toss for the fifth successive time, said, "Don't mind losing the toss as long as we win the game. Was a bit confused yesterday about what to do, was a bit overcast. Should be a good pitch for the bowlers. We've got three changes. Jurel, Karun and Prasidh in for Pant, Shardul and Bumrah. The boys are looking for one final push and will be giving it their all."
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.