Thakur, Sai Sudharsan replace Nitish Kumar Reddy and Karun Nair for India, while Dawson comes in for the injured Bashir

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2025Toss Shubman Gill believes that a combination of a good batting surface and gloomy overhead conditions made it a “good toss to lose” in Manchester after England captain Ben Stokes won his fourth in a row and inserted India.No team has ever chosen to bowl at Old Trafford and gone on to win a Test match, but Stokes believes that his team can defy that trend. “There’s pretty decent overhead conditions for bowling,” he explained at the toss. “It’s a typical Manchester wicket: quite firm, a little bit of grass coverage. Hopefully, we can make use of it this morning.”India made three changes, two of them forced, and handed a Test debut to Anshul Kamboj, the Haryana and Chennai Super Kings seamer. Sai Sudharsan replaces Karun Nair at No. 3 after he failed to pass 40 in the first three Tests, while Shardul Thakur and Kamboj replace the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep.Gill said he was “a bit confused” as to whether he would have chosen to bat or bowl first, but was spared the decision as India lost their 14th consecutive toss across all men’s internationals. “The way we have played in the last three matches has been outstanding,” Gill said, isolating only the “small crunch moments” as the difference between the teams.England announced their XI two days before the game with a single, forced change from the side that won by 22 runs at Lord’s last week. Liam Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder, returns for his first Test in eight years, replacing Shoaib Bashir who fractured the little finger on his left hand while attempting a return catch in the third Test.