IND v ENG 2024: England announces playing XI for the fifth Test against India in Dharamshala

Jonny Bairstow set to play his 100th Test for England.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the England playing XI for the upcoming fifth and final Test against India which will be played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The match will begin on March 7 and sees India leading the series 3-1.  

India is leading the World Test Championship (WTC) table with 62 points and a winning percentage of 64.58. England are languishing in eighth spot in the nine-team WTC with 21 points (19.44 percentage).

England have been relying on different combinations in the Test series and have played two pacers twice, in Ranchi and Rajkot Test matches. Otherwise, they have played three spinners and one pacer.

However, with the conditions in Dharamshala being cold and cloudy, perfectly suited for the England team and hence they decided to play two pacers this time to gain the maximum advantage over India.

The batting remains the same with Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, and Joe Root leading the way. Jonny Bairstow will play his 100^th Test match and will give the middle order stability with captain Ben Stokes and keeper Ben Foakes.

James Anderson will be partnered by Mark Wood, who makes his return to the side. Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir are the two spinners in the side.

Here is the England playing XI for 5the ^th Test in Dharamshala:

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (WK), Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.