LUCKNOW, India (AP) — England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to field first in its Cricket World Cup match on Sunday against India.
India is flying high – the only unbeaten team in the competition thus far. The hosts sit second on the points’ table with 10 points from five games. It trails South Africa – equal on points after six games – on net run-rate.
England, meanwhile, is 10th on the table. The 2019 champions sunk to last spot again on Saturday evening as the Netherlands beat Bangladesh.
It has a mere two points from only one win in five games – the worst run for a defending champion since 1999. Australia in 1992 is the only other defending champion to lose four (or more) matches in a World Cup.
England has only beaten Bangladesh and still trails them on run-rate. It has lost to New Zealand, Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is still unavailable for India and is nursing a left ankle injury. In his absence, the hosts have gone with a similar combination as it did against New Zealand a week ago in Dharamsala – six batsmen and five bowlers.
Both India and England have fielded an unchanged side from the previous game.
Sunday is going to be dry and hot in Lucknow, with a slow and turning wicket expected at the BRABVE Stadium. It should assist the batters, but spin should come into play prominently as the match progresses.
Evening dew could favour the side chasing, but pacers have also enjoyed bowling under lights at this venue.
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Line-ups:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Lokesh Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (captain), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
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