India vs England, 5th Test: Toss result and playing XIs for today's match, umpires list and pitch report

India will take on England in the fifth and final Test of the series at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Thursday, March 7. The hosts have already clinched the series 3-1, but will be keen to make it 4-1. England, on the other hand, would want to end the series like they began it - with a win.

India made a strong comeback in the Test series after losing the opening match in Hyderabad. After triumphs in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot, they got the better of England by five wickets in Ranchi in a closely contested clash. Ben Stokes and co. had their chances in the game, but as the England captain conceded after the series loss, India were better at winning the big moments.

Both Ravichandran Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow will be featuring in their 100th Test when the teams take field in Dharamsala. While the Indian off-spinner has claimed 17 wickets at an average of 30.41, the Englishman has had a poor series, managing only 170 runs from eight innings. Both players will be keen to come up with a special effort in their landmark Test.

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IND vs ENG 5th Test toss result

England have won the toss and have decided to bat first. Ben Stokes said:

“You probably have a bat looking at this pitch. It's [5th Test] another opportunity to represent our country.”

England have made one change to their playing XI - Mark Wood comes in for Ollie Robinson. For India, Devdutt Padikkal comes in for Rajat Patidar. Rohit Sharma confirmed Patidar injured himself during training last evening.

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IND vs ENG 5th Test match playing XIs

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson

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IND vs ENG 5th Test pitch report

In their pitch report, Nick Knight and Sanjay Manjrekar say:

“Pitch looks like an absolute belter. The outfield is excellent and it is a smallish ground as well. Three seamers are out of question. England are going with two. The ball would travel a bit further in the air. Should be a good contest between bat and ball.”

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IND vs ENG 5th Test match players list

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Srikar Bharat, Devdutt Padikkal, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar

England squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Rehan Ahmed, Daniel Lawrence, Gus Atkinson

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IND vs ENG 5th Test match umpires

On-field umpires: Joel Wilson, Rod Tucker

TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe