RAJKOT, India, Feb 14 (Reuters): A severely depleted India will do everything they can to try and deny England captain Ben Stokes a victory in his 100th Test when the teams clash in the third match of the five-Test series in Rajkot on Thursday.
India have not lost a Test series on home soil since 2012 but that record is under threat after batting stalwart Virat Kohli was ruled out of the series for personal reasons, while frontline seamer Mohammed Shami is also unavailable through injury.
Compounding their crisis, batter KL Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja sustained injuries in Hyderabad, where England registered a thrilling victory to go 1-0 up in the series.
The duo missed the second Test in Visakhapatnam, where India levelled the series, and while Rahul continues his spell on the sidelines, Jadeja will reunite with Ravichandran Ashwin in India's spin attack in Rajkot.
Off-spinner Ashwin is one strike away from 500 test wickets.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are vying for the third spinner's role, while Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal will fancy their Test debut on Thursday.
India-England 3rd Test begins today
FE Team | Published: February 14, 2024 22:09:30
India-England 3rd Test begins today
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