The third T20I of the ongoing five-match series between India and England is expected to be an exciting contest as both sides will fight hard to take the lead. India made a strong comeback in the second match after losing the first by eight wickets. A second-wicket partnership of 94 between debutant Ishan Kishan and skipper Virat Kohli set up India’s seven-wicket win against the visitors. It also helped them in leveling the series 1-1.
While Kishan played a terrific knock of 56 in just 32 deliveries, Kohli remained unbeaten on 73 off 49 balls. Even though India lost the wicket of KL Rahul (0) early in their innings, Kishan and Kohli took the attack on to the English bowlers from the onset. Kishan’s uninhibited aggression and Kohli’s return to form bode well for India. Rishabh Pant looked his explosive best during his cameo of 26 in 13 deliveries and that has only added to England’s woes ahead of the third T20I.
The Indian bowlers also played their role to perfection before Kohli and Kishan’s magic took shape. England looked set for a big total halfway into their innings, but the Indian bowlers pulled things back in the death overs. Taking the pace off the ball worked wonders for them. As a result, 164 was all England could amass in their 20 overs, which was chased down pretty easily by India in the end.
For England, Jason Roy has been really good at the top of the order with scores of 49 and 46 to his name in the two games. Jos Buttler played a good hand of 28 in the first match but was out for a first-ball duck in the second. However, he will look to take that as a blip and focus on the task ahead. All four England batsmen between Nos. 3 and 6 got scores of 20 or more in the last match but none of them kicked on and scored big. That is an aspect they would like to discuss before they take the field in the third T20I.
England’s bowling was also far from satisfactory in the last match. It was not comparable to their superb show in the first T20I. Mark Wood’s absence hurt them as they lacked another bowler who could replicate Wood’s pace and ability to hit the hard lengths. Jofra Archer lacked support at the other end. Tom Curran, picked to replace the injured Wood, was the weak link of the unit. It won’t be a surprise if they decide to drop him in the next match.
Conditions: The toss has played a crucial factor in both the matches so far. The teams opting to field first have won on both occasions. However, a different red-soil pitch is expected to be used in this game. It is expected to assist the spinners and worsen as the game goes on. The advantage will be with the team batting first.
Team News: Rohit Sharma is expected to make a comeback into the Indian XI, as hinted by Kohli ahead of the series. The out-of-form KL Rahul may make way for him. Axar Patel may also come into the lineup if the pitch assists spinners. On the other hand, England may bring Moeen Ali in place of Tom Curran to counter the threat of Pant and Kishan.
Probable Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur/Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Curran, Tom Curran/Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
Key Players
Virat Kohli (India): The Indian skipper announced his return to form with an excellent unbeaten 73. That bodes very well for India and he will be eager to carry that form forward into this match.
Jofra Archer (England): Though Archer couldn’t pick up a wicket in the previous match, he still bowled an economical spell of 4-0-24-0. With a little bit of support from the other end, he can set the course of the match yet again.