England have retained old warhorse James Anderson who is seven shy of reaching the landmark 700 wickets and become the first pacer to achieve the feat.
Their campaign back on track after the humiliating loss in the opener, title holders England would look for a dominating all-round effort against a battered Afghanistan in the World Cup in New Delhi on Sunday, with eyes firmly set on bettering their net run rate.
Dharamsala is colder than usual for this time of the year keeping the pacers interested but considering no grass has been left on the surface.
A superb 75 from Harry Brook and some big hitting from tailender Mark Wood earned England a pulsating three-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test.
India set England a huge target and then skittled the tourists out for 122 to romp to a 434-run victory in the third Test and go 2-1 up in the five-match series on Sunday.
'I wanted to convert the loose balls, and play till the end.'
Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a rapid hundred before retiring hurt as India stretched their overall lead to 322 with eight wickets in hand to take control of the third Test.
Buttler and Co fret over Wood's fitness
Jos Buttler concedes 'incredibly difficult' for England to progress to semi-final
Ben Stokes added 91 runs with the last 3 wickets to help England post 246.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for the fifth Test against England?
SRH will bank on Markram's leadership skills to deliver results this season.
England have named an unchanged squad for the first two Tests of the five-match Ashes series against Australia.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel stole the show in India's record-breaking victory in the Rajkot Test.
Former pacer Steven Finn urged England to take a cue from Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen's centuries in their 10-wicket win in the 2012 Mumbai Test.
If KL Rahul leads Lucknow Super Giants to their maiden IPL title, he will automatically be rewarded with a spot in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup, reckons head coach Justin Langer, who wants his team's national hopefuls to "concentrate" on doing well for the franchise first.
'To also have the benefit of Joe's bowling out here is obviously massive. I'm surprised he's not actually mentioned he's nipped above me, but I think we're just two people who don't really care about stuff like that.'
Zak Crawley said most of his teammates have become better players since embracing the ultra-aggressive 'Bazball' approach
Wood's pace has added bite to England's attack in Australia with the 32-year-old claiming nine wickets in the group stage
Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley scripted a remarkable turnaround and set up England's thrilling 28-run victory against India in the opening Test at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
England's Chris Woakes stated that he is "at ease" with the Three Lions' decision to leave him out of the Test team for a series against India, calling it a "fair decision."
IMAGES from the World Cup match between Australia and England played in Ahmedabad on Saturday
Nasser Hussain believes England should replace Moeen Ali with either speedster Mark Wood or Chris Woakes.
'It was a wonderful all-round effort by Afghanistan'
Ricky Ponting has offered technical advice to Australia's batters Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head to counter England's bowling attack ahead of the second Ashes Test.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday.
India's bid to win a 17th consecutive home Test series, however, hinges on the success of their three-pronged spin attack comprising Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
Images from Day 3 of the fifth and final Test between India and England in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Australia retained the urn after rain washed out the final day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, leaving England trailing 2-1 in the series.
England coach Brendon McCullum warned that if the pitch indeed favours the spinners, England would not be afraid to field an all-spin attack.
The standout performers that allowed India to maintain their upper hand over England were young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between India and England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Sunday
The last time England toured India, back in early 2021, Joe Root's team went back home beaten and bruised 3-1.
England captain Ben Stokes tried hard to be self-effacing on the eve of his 100th Test appearance, saying "milestones are what they are" but he is looking forward to the "theatre" that would come with playing the marquee game against a star-studded India.
England pace spearhead Mark Wood credited bowling coach Morne Morkel for keeping things simple at training after returning sensational figures of 5 for 14 on his IPL debut for Lucknow Super Giants in their massive 50-run victory over Delhi Capitals, in Lucknow, on Saturday.
'...Virat adds to the quality of any contest because he is such a wonderful player who brings fire, passion, competitiveness and great fan following to the sport. But personal matters always take preference over cricketing matters.'
Spinners selected gives us best opportunity to beat India: Ben Stokes
England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet against Jos Buttler's men successfully defending their World Cup title in a few weeks time.
The Ashes rivalry between the Australian and English cricket teams escalated to new levels, with the prime ministers of both countries jumping into the fray, again.
James Anderson, Broad and Ollie Robinson will lead the pace attack with Moeen, who retired from tests in 2021, returning to the side after Jack Leach was ruled out of the series due to a back injury.
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