India win toss and field against England

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field against England in the first Test at Lord’s here on Thursday.

England left out fit-again seamer Tim Bresnan from a 12-man squad and selected the same side that drew the third Test against Sri Lanka to complete a 1-0 series win, with paceman Stuart Broad retaining his place.

India, opting to field in overcast, swing-friendly, conditions, including seamer Praveen Kumar and batsman Suresh Raina but omitted fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and World Cup-winning star Yuvraj Singh.

Abhinav Mukund played in the absence of injured India opener Virender Sehwag.

This is the 2,000th Test ever played and the 100th between England and India.

And it could see India great Sachin Tendulkar become the first batsman to score 100 international hundreds. He already has 51 in Tests and 48 in one-day internationals, both records.

If England, currently third in the ICC’s Test rankings, win this four-Test series by two matches they will displace leaders India at the top of the standings.

However, India are unbeaten in 10 series under Dhoni and have not lost a Test series against England since 1996, winning three and drawing two of the last five campaigns between the two countries.

Teams:

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson

India: Gautam Gambhir, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wkt), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma

Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZL) and Asad Rauf (PAK)
TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

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