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Big picture
Is this the future or is it just the present and the reality of an impending T20 World Cup? England have been resting and touring throughout the testing phase of this India tour, but are now nearing maximum for the T20I series.
These five matches therefore come with a sense of urgency that is lacking in many T20I bilateral series. England, perhaps the best T20I team in the world, are giving all of their stars a run-out in Indian conditions ahead of the big October event. Along the way, they’ll put India through the most rigorous litigation test to see where they stand in this format.
India, for its part, has lost just two of its last 15 completed T20Is. It’s a terrific record, indicative of a team that has covered most of the bases, but the big question they need to answer is how they’re going to do when they meet a really good hitting team – like this lineup. English – in a knockout match. on level ground, especially when asked to strike first.
It’s obvious from their team lineup for this series that they’re looking to muster the firepower for this kind of scenario. Suryakumar Yadav – an innovative 360-degree player – Ishan Kishan – the most prolific six hitter of the IPL 2020 – and the recalled Rishabh pants bring more muscle to a middle order that already includes Hardik Pandya, and the addition of Rahul Tewatia – whose fitness status is not yet clear – gives them a third option for the role of the versatile spin-bowling player, more explosive with the bat than Axar Patel or Washington Sundar. With Shardul Thakur potentially at No.8, they’re a team with a fair amount of batting depth, so the bigger question for India, as always, is whether their top three can beat with a little more. adventure and a little less fear of becoming outside.
In short, can India be more like England?
England, for their part, will have to find a way to be more like India – with the ball. Of all the full member teams, England has the worst T20I economy rate since the start of 2018 (India is the fourth best). If they can’t find a way to fix this on Indian pitches – especially given the injury doubts surrounding Jofra Archer – other teams will ruthlessly target their bowlers in the T20 World Cup.
Form Guide
India LWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
England WWWLW
6:12
Rohit: Pant is starting to understand gameplay situations better now
In the spotlight
He put an indifferent IPL behind him, he “worked his back” – in the words of his trainer Ravi Shastri – to improve his physical form, he improved his wicket beyond recognition, and he played four innings. exceptional in the space of seven tests to once again have the world at your feet. It also earned a T20I booster, and India is hoping Rishabh pants can do to England’s bowlers in white ball cricket what he did to James Anderson when he played him with a new red ball in the same spot last week.
It’s mind-boggling that no team went for Jason roy during the IPL auction, but it may have something to do with a perceived weakness against the spin. During his limited time in the IPL – seven innings combined over the 2017 and 2018 seasons – he struggled against effects, averaging 12.40 and hitting 110.71, while returning matching numbers. of 117.00 and 150.00 against the beat. Through this series, Roy hopes to show the teams who rejected him that he has the game to succeed against the spin in Indian conditions.
Team news
Varun Chakravarthy is expected to miss the streak after failing his mandatory fitness test, as there are doubts about the availability of Rahul Tewatia and T Natarajan. Considering all this, the bowling attack will likely include one of Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, and a possible three-way battle between Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two places. It is also unclear where Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav will fit in the middle order, but the biggest selection puzzle for India will be their openers: which among Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul will complete the two first places? Virat Kohli, without confirming the XI, said the day before the match that Rohit and Rahul remained the first Indian players of T20I.
India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (captain), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel / Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Navdeep Saini.
Jofra Archer’s recurring elbow issue is England’s main concern for the series opener. They have a plethora of fast-paced bowling options to choose from, however, with Mark Wood, Tom Curran, and Reece Topley all vying for when needed.
England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Eoin Morgan (capt), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Jofra Archer / Mark Wood, 11 Adil Rashid.
Steps and conditions
A much more hitter-friendly surface can be expected at Motera than those served for the third and fourth tests, although the pitches that hosted the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophies here in January helped the spinners. The slowest bowlers in this tournament had an average of 32.00 on this field and had an overall save rate of 6.67, with the keen managing the corresponding numbers of 24.02 and 7.55. Of the seven matches played here, five were won by the pursuit team, suggesting that the dew may have had an influence.
Statistics and anecdotes
- India and England are dead even when it comes to their head-to-head T20Is: they have each won seven and lost seven. India, however, has topped four of the last five meetings.
- Virat Kohli needs 72 runs to become the first batsman to score 3,000 T20I runs.
- Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan have been extremely successful in a T20I partnership. They rode two stands of the century and two stands of a half-century in eight rounds, averaging 66.37 per pair while scoring a whopping 11.46 over. This makes it the fourth fastest scoring partnership among all the pairs that have completed at least 200 races together.
Quote
“No I don’t agree with that [India being the team to beat at the upcoming T20 World Cup]. They [England] are the n ° 1 [T20I] in the world and the focus will be on them. All other teams will be wary of the strength they bring to the park and all other teams will agree with what I say. “From India Virat kohli
“Wicket looks good, it depends on what the gardener chooses to do between today and tomorrow.”From England Eoin Morgan
Karthik Krishnaswamy is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
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