Karun Nair debuts as India asked to bowl first in Mohali Test

England have won the toss and asked India to bowl first in the third Test of the five-match series at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here on Saturday.

Following the toss, India Test skipper Virat Kohli said that toss has been taken out of equation because the pitch is already dry.

As far as the Playing XI is concerned, Karun Nair has been given his Test cap, as the batsman was called in to replace injured KL Rahul.

Rahul's hamstring injury took a turn for the worse while fielding in Visakhapatnam, which resulted in him being forced to sit out of the Rajkot Test.

Parthiv Patel, who has been recalled in the national squad after a span of eight years, will open the batting along with Murali Vijay. He replaces opener Wriddhiman Saha.

On the other hand, Chris Woakes and Gareth Batty replace injured Stuart Broad and Zafar Ansari respectively for England. Jos Buttler has also been recalled in place of Ben Duckett.

While India will aim to continue their momentum with another strong show in Mohali, England will look to gain inspiration from the past heroics to turn tables this time as well.

The hosts are currently leading the series 1-0 following their massive 246-run win over England in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. The opening match between two sides ended in a pale draw in Rajkot.

India Playing XI: Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel(w), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

England Playing XI: Alastair Cook(c), Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow(w), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Gareth Batty, James Anderson.