Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has thrown his weight behind the Indian team ahead of the third Test against England at Lord’s, praising their recent performance and asserting that India’s bowling attack, especially with the return of Jasprit Bumrah, is “currently superior” to England’s.Live Score: India vs England, 3rd Test Day 1Speaking to ANI, Azharuddin said, “They played well in Birmingham. With that confidence, the team must be well settled. When Bumrah comes in, it will be great for the team. Our bowling attack is currently superior to England’s. I wish the team the very best and hope they come out as the winner.”Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!India head into the Lord’s Test with renewed momentum after a dominant 336-run victory in Birmingham, their biggest win away from home in terms of runs. That triumph levelled the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 1-1 after England had taken the opener at Headingley.
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Captain Shubman Gill leads the charge with the bat, already amassing 585 runs in four innings at an average of 146.25, including marathon scores of 269 and 161 at Edgbaston. With three centuries in the series, he now stands just 18 runs shy of Rahul Dravid’s record for the most runs by an Indian batter in a Test series in England (602 in 2002).
India’s bowling too was ruthless in Birmingham, despite Bumrah being rested. Mohammed Siraj claimed seven wickets, while Akash Deep stunned the hosts with a match haul of 10 wickets. Bumrah, the world’s No. 1 ranked Test bowler, returns to the XI in place of Prasidh Krishna, adding further firepower to an already lethal attack.England, meanwhile, made just one change – recalling Jofra Archer after four years of injuries – replacing Josh Tongue, who is the series’ leading wicket-taker so far with 11 wickets.England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat at Lord’s, a venue where India have historically struggled, managing just three wins in 19 Tests. Lord’s Test Playing XIsEngland XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wkt), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib BashirIndia XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (wkt), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
