India vs England 2024 3rd Test: Venue, where to watch, head-to-head record, probable lineups & more

On what could be the best batting surface of the series at Rajkot, both Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes will have their challenges of picking 20 wickets to go 2-1 ahead in the series,

Rarely has a Test series in India after two matches captured the level of anticipation and excitement as the ongoing one between India and England. As the sides head to Rajkot for the third Test starting on Thursday, experts and supporters are split as to who will take the lead after the match, thanks to factors such as injury to key players and balanced surfaces.

Historically, Rajkot has been a graveyard for bowlers and if curators dish out a shirtfront for the match, this could well be the game where fans could witness the best of Bazball.

The Test match will be special for captain Ben Stokes, who will appear in his 100th Test for his country. Ravichandran Ashwin and James Anderson will be in search for their 500th and 700th Test wicket, respectively. While the former needs one wicket, the latter is five wickets away from reaching the landmark.

The India vs England third Test match will start at 9:30 am on all five days, starting Friday.

The Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium, which will be renamed the Niranjan Shah cricket stadium on Wednesday, will be the host for the third of the five Tests between India and England.

India and England have featured in 133 Test matches with the former having 32 of those while the latter 51. In India, the two teams have played 65 Tests with India winning 23 and England winning 15.

Both teams will come into the match with injury headaches to solve in a bid to win and go 2-1 ahead in the series. The hosts will miss KL Rahul, who is not yet fully fit to feature in the playing XI while the visitors will miss left-arm spinner Jack Leach for the rest of the series due to a knee injury.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan,  Axar Patel, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

England:  Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.

Batters-Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Joe Root, Ollie Pope

All-rounders-R Ashwin

Bowlers-Jasprit Bumrah, Tom Hartley

Television viewers can watch the third India vs England  Test match on the Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD in India.

For those watching on other devices like a smart TV, laptops, and smartphones, the India vs England third Test match will be streamed on the JioCinema website.