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India to bat, Pietersen out

Last updated on: April 03, 2006 12:03 IST

Scorecard

India won the toss and elected to bat against England in the third One-Day International at the Nehru stadium in Fatorda, Goa, on Monday.

India opted for two changes with Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel replacing Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth.

Munaf will be making his debut after impressing in the Test series against England.

England were dealt a big blow in the form of Kevin Pietersen, who was ruled out due to illness. His place in the team was taken by Vikram Solanki.

England also replaced pacer Kabir Ali with Sajid Mahmood.

The newly-laid pitch at the Fatorda stadium, used mostly for football matches, is expected to help spinners. India have played three matches at the venue, but are yet to register a victory.

India lead 2-0 in the seven-match series after winning the first two matches in New Delhi and Faridabad.

Teams:

India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, M S Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel.

England: Andrew Flintoff (captain), Andrew Strauss, Owais Shah, Vikram Solanki, Geraint Jones, Ian Blackwell, James Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Sajid Mahmood, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior.

Harish Kotian in Goa