After just completing an important test series that culminated in the second round of the ICC World Test Championship, India and England will start off on rivals in a five-game T20I series.
Overview
India v England, 1st T20I
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
March 12; 7pm local time, 1.30pm GMT
The series pitches the top two teams in the world against each other, with England currently residents of ICC No.1 rankings in T20I cricket and India sitting upright. below.
They were able to change spots by the end of this series. A 4-1 or better series win for India will see them rise to the top spot on the ladder, with England slipping down.
With the last T20I series in England losing its way back in 2018, India needs to be at its best to win the series comfortably.
Going second, winning a series for each team will be a boost for their confidence ahead of India’s ICC T20 2020 World Cup. They will both be considered among the cup runners-up at the start of the competition.
England’s victory will show them that they have the right stuff to win in India. Similarly, a win for India will reassure Virat Kohli’s team that they can make it.
And the series won’t lack star power either. In Dawid Malan, England holds the highest T20I bat in the world, with Captain Eoin Morgan sitting 10th. In response, India is on KL Rahul in third place and Kohli in sixth place. Throw in the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ben Stokes, Rishabh Pant, Jos Buttler and Hardik Pandya, and the series shouldn’t be short of fireworks with the stick.
It’s not going to be an easy series for the batters, with bowlers of Adil Rashid status – fifth place on the ICC’s T20I bowling rankings – Jofra Archer, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returning all involved.
Remember the last time
The latest T20I series loss in England was against India. That was in 2018. They have lost their two T20I two-tier series against India, with their last series win against them coming in 2014.
The 2018 meet in England split 2-1 with Rohit named Player of the Series for his 137 runs at 68.50. One hundred of those runs came in the series decision in Bristol. Another era at the start of the campaign from Rahul had taken India ahead before England kicked back to win the second game.
Watch out for
Virat Kohli – The star batter is on track to become the first male player to ever score a 3000 T20I running this series. He currently has 2928 for his name and it would be a surprise if he did not fly past the 3000 mark against England.
India have only played three T20Is in the last 12 months, but with the home T20 World Cup just around the corner, they are looking to pick up steam. Expect the Indian captain to lead by example with the baton.
Dawid Malan – Malan sits at the top of the ICC T20I men’s batting ranks for a reason. He has scratched more runs than anyone in the world in form in the last 12 months, and has been reliable and aggressive. His 386 runs in that period have come in at an average of 55.14 and a strike rate of 144.56.
He averaged 86.50 in the last T20I series in England, surpassing 50 in two of his free kicks, with a high score of 99 *.
Fixtures
1st T20I: 12 March, 7pm at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
2nd T20I: March 14, 7pm at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
3rd T20I: March 16, 7pm at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
4th T20I: March 18, 7pm at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
5th T20I: March 20, 7pm at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Squads
India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Navdeep Saini, Rahul Tewatia, Shardul Chakra, Var. . , Washington Sundar, Suryakumar Yadav
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood