England won the toss and opted to chase, marking the first time in the series that India would bat first. Jos Buttler won his first toss of the series, and with Saqib Mahmood and Jacob Bethell included for the visitors, England was set to bowl first. India made three changes, with Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma walking out to open the innings. Samson has struggled against the pace and bounce of England’s quicks, with Jofra Archer taking the new ball for the visitors.

After Archer’s opening over went for 12 runs, England’s Saqib Mahmood made an immediate impact, claiming three wickets in one over without conceding a single run. Samson was dismissed for just 1, caught at deep square leg after pulling a short ball from Mahmood. Tilak Varma followed next, falling for a golden duck after edging a lofted cover drive to third man.

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The situation worsened when Suryakumar Yadav, who came in to steady the innings, found himself in trouble right away. England set aggressive field placements, with two slips, a short leg, and a short mid-on. On the final ball of the over, Mahmood had Yadav caught at short mid-on by Brydon Carse. It was a half-hearted flick from Yadav, who was left in disbelief as the ball looped into Carse’s hands.

India was now in deep trouble, losing three key wickets in quick succession. The MCA stadium fell silent as England’s bowlers dominated, leaving India with a mountain to climb early in the game.

India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy

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England (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood