India vs England, Highlights, 4th Test, Day 1: England 53/3 at stumps, trail India by 138 runs at the Oval

The England pacer sticks to the line outside off-stump, forcing KL Rahul to check his shots. The Indian opener is beaten twice in the eighth over, once playing defensively and on the other occasion, while going for a booming drive.

Absolute brilliant from Rohit. Two off-drives that didn't go to the boundary but were perhaps the best shots of the days so far. Anderson pitched it full, trying to extract swing and Rohit on both occasions offered the full face of the bat and just punched it with utmost care.

FOUR! That was close. It wasn't too far from James Anderson at short mid one. It just bounced in front of him and raced away to the boundary. Rohit probably didn't realise how well he had timed that delivery.

FOUR! Once again full and wide from Anderson, a bit too full for the ball to swing and Rahul takes full advantage of it. Puts in a decent stride, doesn't try to got at with hard hands, just strokes it. The opened bat face allows the ball to find the gap and race away to the boundary. India 17/0 after 5 overs.

So far so good for India. Both Rahul and Rohit have looked busy in the middle. There were four singles in this Ollie Robinson over. India 13/0 after 4 overs.

FOUR! This time not in full control but all along the ground. Credit to Rahul as he played it with soft hands and did not push at the delivery which was going away after pitching. The ball took the outside half of Rahul's bat and raced away through the vacant gully region and into the boundary.

FOUR! A bit too full from Anderson but the most important part was that there was no away swing in it so it meant Rahul had full right to plant his front and play the drive. He did that too perfection to get off the mark with confidence boosting four.

A beauty to end the over from Ollie Robinson, pitches around off-stump, just shapes to beat the outside edge of Rohit Sharma's bat. A maiden for the right-arm seamer. India 1/0 after 2 overs.

After three consecutive outswingers, James Anderson tries to mix it up by brining one back to Rohit Sharma but strays in line a little bit allowing the India opener to tuck it towards square leg and get a single to get off the mark.

India openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will once again have their tasks cut out when they walk to take on the England new-ball attack which has been bolstered by the return of Chris Woakes. The pitch has a tingle of green, which means it will offer enough assitance to Anderson & Co in the first hour or so.

"We would have bowled first as well but toss isn't something you can control. Need to be prepared for either. We're looking forward to putting runs on the board," said India captain Virat Kohli

"Going to make use of the overhead conditions. Looks like a good morning for bowling, we need to still hit the right lines and lengths, like we did at Headingley," said England captain Joe Root at the toss.

Can't remember the last time Ashwin sat out four back to back Test matches despite being fully fit. Well, this has happened in England as India have gone with the better batsman in Ravindra Jadeja and four-pronged seam attack.

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root(c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson

Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur come in to the Indian XI in place of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami. Both Shami, Ishant have niggles, informs Kohli at the toss.

England captain Joe Root opts to bowl first after winning the toss.

We see India captain Virat Kohli and England captain Joe Root having a chat and enjoying a laugh before the toss. Gee, this will be an important toss and for once, Kohli, perhaps wouldn't mind losing it.

This is a captain's nightmare. Normally you think Oval as a belter but there is some live grass which might make the bowlers nip it slightly. So it might start off by nibbling but it will get better. What do you do then? And this pitch spins towards the end too. It's a difficult choice for the captains, I'd be happy if I lose the toss: Rob Key with The Oval pitch report.

There may be a few surprises up in store as far as the Indian XI is concerned. Prasidh Krishna was added in the squad last night, which was a clear indication that he is in line to make his Test debut while there are reports that Jasprit Bumrah too might sit this one out, does that mean Ashwin will get a game? We have about 20 mins before get the confirmation.

Mohammed Shami is 5 wickets away from completing 200 Test wickets. He can become the 5th Indian pacer with 200+ Test wickets after Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.

The Oval pitch is expected to offer something to everyone. The pacers will get bounce, batters will like to play on and aslo, turn for the spinners. More importantly, the weather likely to allow complete 90 overs of play. Thirty minutes to toss.

Veteran India quick Ishant Sharma turns 33 today. He is 1 wicket away from becoming the highest wicket-taker for India in an away host country. He has currently 51 wickets in Tests in England, joint most with Kapil Dev’s 51 wickets in Australia.

It's a fact that Oval wicket is the most wicket-friemdly venue in England and the experts have suggested that India must have Ashwin for the fourth Test. Not to forget, the Indian off-spinner claimed 6/27 in his one-game stint with Surrey ahead of the series.