DHARAMSALA: Fast bowler Mark Wood has replaced Ollie Robinson as England’s only change in their team for the fifth and final Test against India in Dharamsala starting Thursday.
India have already won the series 3-1 and England will be fighting to salvage some pride in the high-altitude and chilly Himalayan hill town.
Veteran seamer James Anderson, 41, retains his place and is just two shy of becoming the third bowler to take 700 Test wickets after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and the late Australian great Shane Warne (708).
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Struggling England batsman Jonny Bairstow will win his 100th cap and India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is also in line to reach the same milestone, having already passed 500 Test wickets during the series.
The weather in Dharamsala could play a huge part in the match.
The picturesque ground is surrounded by snow-capped peaks at an altitude of 1,317 metres (4,320 feet).
There is a risk of sleet and forecasts say temperatures could plunge as low as 1 Celsius (34 Fahrenheit) on Thursday.
India won the fourth Test in Ranchi by five wickets and have not lost a home series since 2012, when Alastair Cook’s England won 2-1.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir
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