Sachin Tendulkar's portrait was unveiled at Lord's. Photo: X
The Lord's Cricket Ground honoured Sachin Tendulkar before the start of the third Test between India and England and unveiled his portrait at the iconic venue. The Master Blaster seemed elated after being bestowed with the honour and shared a heartfelt post on X. Sachin, who played his first Test at Lord's in 1990, made his maiden trip to Lord's in 1988. He returned to the iconic venue with the Star Cricket Club in 1989. Sachin last played at Lord's in 2011.
"I first visited Lord’s as a teenager in 1988, and returned in 1989 with the Star Cricket Club team. I remember standing near the pavilion, soaking in the history and dreaming quietly. Today, to have my portrait unveiled at this very place is a feeling that’s hard to put into words. Life has truly come full circle. I’m grateful, and filled with wonderful memories," Sachin wrote on X.
The ICC Hall of Famer also rang the bell at Lord's. It is rung 5 minutes before the start of the game. Sachin was spotted enjoying the opening day's action with former UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. He also met former India wicketkeeper-batsman Farokh Engineer at Lord's.
England opt to bat
Ben Stokes-led England won the toss and opted to bat first. Both teams had one change each. India brought back Jasprit Bumrah in place of Prasidh Krishna. Bumrah was rested for the 2nd Test to manage his workload.
England's Jofra Archer returned to the Test team's playing XI after 4 years and replaced Josh Tongue. The right-arm pacer played his previous Test against India in February 2021.
Here are playing XIs of both teams -
India: Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England: Ben Stokes (Captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir
