TimesofIndia.com in London:Shubman Gill is in ominous touch. The Indian captain hammered a majestic 269 and 161 in the second Test — becoming only the second player in history to score more than 150 in both innings of a Test — as India crushed England by 336 runs to level the five-match series 1-1.The victory at Edgbaston marked Gill’s first as Test captain. With a match aggregate of 430 runs, he took his series tally to a staggering 585 runs — with three more Tests still to play. Now, the in-form batter will look to continue his extraordinary run in the third Test at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground, starting Thursday.
But do England have a plan to stop Gill? England captain Ben Stokes says they do.“Yeah, look, we’ve got plans for all the Indian batters. But good players are allowed to play well — and he’s (Gill) played very well in the first two games,” Stokes told reporters ahead of the third Test.
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The match will also mark the highly anticipated return of Jofra Archer to England’s Test XI. Archer, who replaces Josh Tongue, was the only change made by England for the third Test.“I think the way he’s (Jofra Archer) handled the injury setbacks over that period has been very commendable, and the way he’s got himself back onto the field and playing cricket over a long period now — it’s impressive. It was exciting to have him back in the squad and in contention last week, but now that we can say he’s in the playing XI, it’s very exciting for the group. I think it’s a pretty great day. Jofra’s going to be very proud of himself for managing to get back here after two major injury scares,” Stokes said.“When you get to this stage with back-to-back Test matches, it feels like the right time to bring in some fresh legs. It’s exciting that we have the ability to call on someone like Jofra. I think whenever he’s played for England — even in the shorter format — it’s obvious that the moment he gets the ball in hand, there’s a change in the game. I think the opposition feels it too, because they know what he’s capable of,” the England skipper added.England squad for the third Test against India:Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wkt), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir
