India take on Essex in their only warm-up match in the lead-up to the all-important five-Test series against England at the Country Ground in Chelmsford from Wednesday, July 25.

When does the match start and how to watch it live

The warm-up game will be played from 11 am BST, 10 am GMT and 3:30 pm IST.

There is no live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Essex's official website. 

Live scores will be available on BCCI and Essex's official website.

What to expect from the only warm-up

Virat Kohli
File photo of India cricket team.Reuters

India were supposed to play a four-day game against the Country Championships side in order to tune up to the upcoming red ball tests against the English side.

However, the match will now be played only between Wednesday and Friday as the Indian team management reportedly wants to start their preparations for the first Test, starting August 1 in Birmingham early.

The touring side will be hoping to make good use of the three days, especially when it comes to getting their combinations right.

Despite Shikhar Dhawan's recent good batting form in white ball-cricket, seasoned campaigner Murali Vijay and KL Rahul are likely to open the batting for India in the Tests. The left-hander though will be hoping to make a statement against the Essex on what seems to be green track.

Captain Virat Kohli will also be eager to try out all three of his spinners at the County Ground. While Kuldeep Yadav, who impressed in the limited-overs leg of the tour, is being backed by quite a few to play the first Test in Edgbaston, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will get some good match practice ahead of the first Test.

With the weather unusually hot and humid in England, India might be tempted to play two spinners in the first Test. If early signs are anything to go by, then Kuldeep and Ashwin might be the spin partners for the visitors.

Fit-again Mohammed Shami will likely be bowling some long spells against Essex as his form is key to India's chances in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah for the first Test.

Dinesh Karthik will also be in focus as the 32-year-old is expected to be the first-choice wicketkeeper following Wriddhiman Saha's career-threatening shoulder injury. Young Rishabh Pant, who has already impressed in India A tours of the UK, will be waiting in the wings for his chances as well.

Essex announced their squad for the one-off match yet on the eve of tie. Notable omission was England opener Alastair Cook, who will be expected to play a key role in the upcoming five-Test series. 

Squads

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

Essex: Tom Westley (c), Aaron Beard, Nick Browne, Varun Chopra, Matt Coles, Matt Dixon, James Foster, Daniel Lawrence, Aron Nijjar, Michael-Kyle Pepper (w), Matthew Quinn, Paul Walter, Rishi Patel