BIRMINGHAM – England won the toss and opted to bat in their key World Cup game against India on Sunday, as opener Jason Roy returned to the starting line-up.
Eoin Morgan’s side, who have suffered two straight losses, need to win their remaining two league matches to guarantee a place in the semi-finals.
“It is a matter of two games to go, hopefully we can win two and go through. It will be a tough challenge today and we are looking forward to it,” Morgan said at the toss at Edgbaston.
Roy, who missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury and replaces James Vince, is one of the two changes in the side that lost the previous game to Australia.
“It is not a big risk. There is always an element of risk, but Jason has trained well the last week and is fit to play,” Morgan said on Roy’s inclusion.
Moeen Ali makes way for Liam Plunkett, with Morgan calling it a “tactical” switch.
The Virat Kohli-led India have made one change to their team that has remained unbeaten in the tournament with five victories and a wash-out.
Rising star Rishabh Pant, who was a late replacement in the squad for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, comes in for Vijay Shankar in the XI.
India, who recently displaced England from the top of ODI rankings, need one win out of the remaining three matches to book their final four spot.
“It is never a problem chasing, I would have batted as well. It’s a good challenge for us, we are up for it,” said Kohli.
“We haven’t focused on the opposition, to be honest. We have been finding ways to win games regardless. It’s all about what you do on the day.”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/EoinMorgan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EoinMorganhas won the toss and elected to bat first at Edgbaston!
🏴 changes: Jason Roy, Liam Plunkett IN; James Vince, Moeen Ali OUT
🇮🇳 changes: Rishabh Pant IN; Vijay Shankar OUT #CWC19| #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/elr1yiOhvV
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup)
Teams For Edgbaston
England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Liam Plunkett, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.