England opt to bat in Test series opener
Birmingham, Aug 1 : England skipper Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat against India in the opener of the five-Test rubber at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground here on Wednesday.
India have surprisingly left Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara out of the playing XI with Lokesh Rahul taking his No.3 place, and picked four quick bowlers with Ravichandran Ashwin as the lone specialist spinner.
England on the other hand, already announced their playing XI on Tuesday with leg-spinner Adil Rashid making his comeback to the longer format after a two-year gap.
England: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (Captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
India: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma.
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US Consulate in Dubai reportedly attacked
Dubai: Smoke was seen rising from an area near the United States Consulate in Dubai, according to witness accounts cited by Reuters.
There was no immediate official confirmation on the extent of damage or whether there were any casualties in the incident.
Earlier, the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, was also attacked. Authorities reported damage to the premises, but no casualties were recorded.
The developments come amid heightened tensions in the region, with Iran continuing to target US interests in the Middle East following deadly attacks launched on Saturday by Israel and the United States.
Near US embassy in Dubai pic.twitter.com/z5VTZNVxNO
— Sahil Shah (@thesahilsshah) March 3, 2026
