Virat Kohli has already revealed experiments will be the way forward in the limited formats of the game. (Source: AP)
India’s much-awaited tour of England begins with the first T20I at Old Trafford, Manchester on Tuesday. After beating minnows Ireland 2-0, India will be confident of kickstarting their battle on English shores on a positive note. The fact that Virat Kohli and his men have managed to win 15 of their last 20 T20I’s will only add to their credentials. However, England are no pushovers after trouncing Australia at home.
Virat Kohli has already revealed experiments will be the way forward in the limited format of the game. With injuries to Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar, it will be interesting whether the likes of Deepak Chahar and Krunal Pandya get a look in. However, that will depend on the conditions on offer. The middle-order still remains an area of where the combination hasn’t yet clicked and Kohli will use this as an opportunity to get it right.
As far as the English set up is concerned they are sorted with Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow will be the ones to watch out for. The bowling looks set with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali heading the spin department. Pacers with David Willey, Chris Jordan and Liam Plunkett filling the other spots. In head to head records both the teams have faced each other 11 times and England holds the edge with a 6-5 lead.
As far as scoring patterns are concerned the average first innings score is concerned it is 139 and the second innings is at 100. However, the highest score on this ground is 191/7 by England against New Zealand. But going by the recent outlay of pitches in England a high scoring game could be on the cards.
SQUADS-
England- Eoin Morgan(C), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, and Dawid Malan.
India- Virat Kohli(C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, and Umesh Yadav.