Big picture
Is it the future, or is it, quite simply, the present, and the reality of the upcoming T20 World Cup? England rested and circled all the test route on this India tour, but now they are near full strength for the T20I series.
So these five matches come with a desperate sense that there isn’t much of a T20I two-dimensional series. England, arguably the best T20I side in the world, are running for their stars in Indian conditions ahead of the big event in October. Along the way, they will take India to the toughest litmus test for where they stand in this form.
India, for their part, have lost just two of their 15 completed T20Is. It’s a solid record, revealing a side that has most of the basics covered, but the big question for them is to answer how they do when they meet a really good batting team – such as this England line – in a game of hitting a flat field, especially when bats are first summoned.
It’s clear, from making up their squad for this series, that they’re looking to gather the firepower for that kind of situation. Suryakumar Yadav – an innovative, 360-degree player – Ishan Kishan – the most advanced six-hit IPL 2020 – and the recalled Rishabh Pant will bring extra muscles to an already mediocre mid-order. introducing Hardik Pandya, and Rahul Tewatia – whose fitness status is not yet clear – give them a third choice for a spin-bowling, more explosive wrestling with the bat than either Axar Patel no Washington Sundar. With Shardul Thakur capable at No. 8, this is a team with a good amount of batting depth, so the biggest question for India, as always, is whether the top three can. their height bathed with a little more daring and a little less fear of getting. out.
Can India, in short, be more like England?
England, for their part, needs to find a way to be more like India – with the ball. Among all Full Ball teams, England has the worst T20I economy rate since the beginning of 2018 (India is in fourth best place). If they can’t find a way to rectify that issue on Indian fields – especially with the injury doubts surrounding Jofra Archer – other teams will be focusing heavily on their mattresses coming to the World Cup. Universe T20.
Form instructions
India LWWWW (last five T20Is, first newest first)
England WWWLW
6:12
Rohit: Pant is starting to understand game situations better now
In mind
He has put an unscrupulous IPL behind him, he has “turned his back” – in the words of his coach Ravi Shastri – to improve his fitness, he has further improved his wicket. in his recognition, and has played four superb innings in place of seven Tests to get the world back on his feet. It has also earned T20I memory, and India will be hopeful Rishabh Pant he can do for England bowlers in whiteball cricket what he did for James Anderson when he joined him with a new red ball at the same spot last week.
Interestingly, no team was formed Jason Roy at IPL auction, but this may have had something to do with perceived weakness versus spinning. In his limited time in the IPL – seven innings combined in the 2017 and 2018 seasons – he struggled against spinning, averaging 12.40 and hitting 110.71, while returning corresponding figures of 117.00 and 150.00 per distance. Throughout this series, Roy hopes to show the rejected teams that he has the game to succeed against spinning in Indian conditions.
Team news
Varun Chakravarthy is expected to miss the series after failing his mandatory fitness test, while there are doubts about the availability of Rahul Tewatia and T Natarajan. Despite all this, the bowling attack is likely to involve one of Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, and a three-way battle between Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two spots. It is not yet clear where Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav will fit in the middle order, but the biggest headache for India will include their openings: which two among Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul fill the top two slots? Virat Kohli, without confirming the XI, said on the eve of the game that Rohit and Rahul were the first T20I openers in India.
India (able): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 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 recycling case is the main concern England are facing in the opening of the series. They have a wealth of quick bowling options to choose from, however, with Mark Wood, Tom Curran and Reece Topley all in controversy if the need arises.
England (able): 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.
Park and conditions
A much friendlier surface is expected to bat at Motera than those served for the third and fourth Test, although the pitches that hosted Teds Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here in January helped the spinners . The slowest archers in that competition averaged 32.00 on this ground and had an overall economy rate of 6.67, with the puppies managing equal figures of 24.02 and 7.55. Of the seven games played here, five were won by the running team, suggesting that dew may have had an effect.
Stats and trivia
- India and England are dead even in terms of the T20I frontrunner: each has won seven and lost seven. India, however, has emerged in four of the last five meetings.
- Virat Kohli needs 72 runs to be the first batsman to get a 3000 T20I run.
- Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan have done an excellent job as a T20I partnership. They have put up two-century touchdowns and two half-century standings in eight innings, averaging 66.37 as a pair while scoring at a whopping 11.46 overall. This makes them the fourth fastest partnership to score among each pair that put at least 200 runs together.
Quotes
“No, I do not agree with that [India being the team to beat at the upcoming T20 World Cup]. They [England] there is No. 1 [T20I] team in the world and will be the main focus. All the other teams will be keeping an eye on the strength they bring into the pitch and all the other teams will agree with what I have to say. “India Virat Kohli
“Wicket looks good, depending on what the landowner chooses to do between today and tomorrow.”England Eoin Morgan
Karthik Krishnaswamy is the senior sub-editor of ESPNcricinfo