England Opt To Bowl First Against India, Shami Included In The Squad For Final T20I

February 2, 2025: England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to bowl first in the fifth and final T20I against India at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. With India leading the series 3-1, the final match is a dead rubber, but England will look to finish on a high before the three-match ODI series that follows.

England made one change in their playing XI for the final T20I, bringing in fast bowler Mark Wood in place of Saqib Mahmood. India, on the other hand, made a change with seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami replacing Arshdeep Singh, who was looking to claim his 100th T20I wicket.

After winning the toss, Jos Buttler said, “We played some good cricket in patches. We should have executed it better though. Need to grab the special moments in the game. There’s a good vibe in the team, it’s a good venue and it’s a great crowd. It’s a good wicket, Mark Wood comes back in. Both teams are high-octane (in terms of batting).”

India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, stated, “We wanted to bat first, looks a good wicket. I am hoping there won’t be much dew. It’s going to be a full-packed stadium tonight. We want the boys taking that responsibility, that’s what we demand and that’s what they are doing. You will fail sometimes, especially when you play that high-risk, high-reward game. Shami comes back in for Arshdeep Singh.”

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

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