India & England teams pay respect to Ahmedabad air crash victims ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test [Watch]

India and England players observed a minute's silence at Headingley in Leeds ahead of the opening Test of their five-match series on Friday, June 20. The players, along with officials, coaches, spectators and others in the stadium, stood in silence to pay respect to the Ahmedabad plane crash victims.

Over 240 lives were lost as Air India's AI-171 flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed five minutes after take-off. The aircraft crashed into the hostel block of the B.J. Medical College in the Meghaninagar neighbourhood of Ahmedabad.

Watch the video of the two teams paying tribute to the victims here:

India and England players are also wearing black armbands in the ongoing Leeds Test to pay respect to the victims. A minute's silence was also observed by South African and Australian players ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's.

England win the toss and opt to bowl first in Leeds

Ben Stokes and Shubman Gill. (Credits: Getty)

On the cricketing side of things, Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to field first, with the venue favoring teams batting second. The home side picked up three specialist seamers in Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse, while Stokes provides another fast-bowling option.

Ollie Pope received the nod over Jacob Bethell to bat at number three after his ton in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. On the other hand, Shubman Gill, who is making his captaincy debut, said he was glad to bat first due to the sunny conditions.

The visitors handed a debut to B Sai Sudharsan, who will bat at number three. India are targeting their first series victory on English soil since 2007. They drew the five-match series 2-2 on their last tour.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava