Both the teams wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before the commencement of the series decider at Lord's.
The gesture was carried out to pay respect to the West Indies legend, Garry Sobers, who passed away on July 17 at his residence in Barbados. Sobers was widely regarded as one of the best all-rounders the game has ever witnessed.
Sobers played 93 Test matches, amassing 8,032 runs (a world record when he retired) across 160 innings with an average of 57.78. One of his career highlights was his 365 not out against Pakistan, which stayed the record for the highest individual Test score for 36 years. Sobers also picked 235 Test wickets with six five-wicket hauls. In 1968, he became the first to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket.
Ahead of the match, the cricketers from both teams donned black armbands as they observed a minute’s silence as the giant scoreboard displayed a tribute to the legend.
No Jasprit Bumrah for the third ODI
After the hosts levelled the series in Cardiff, India made three changes to their playing XI, two of which were forced changes. Jasprit Bumrah was unable to pass the fitness test before the game, and could not make the XI due to a knee injury. Washington Sundar, who went down with a hamstring injury was ruled out of the series (and replaced by Harsh Dubey). KL Rahul returned into the side, along with Prince Yadav.
India have gone in with five bowling options, with Axar Patel being the only spinner. Kuldeep Yadav could still not find a place in the XI.
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