Fresh from a clinical eight-wicket victory over England, India will aim to clinch the Twenty-20 International (T20I) series when they lock horns with the hosts in the second T20I of the three-match series at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff today. The Indian cricket team led by Virat Kohli completely outclassed England in the first game, as Kuldeep Yadav's fifer followed by Lokesh Rahul's unbeaten ton guided Indian to a comfortable victory. Indian skipper Virat Kohli will be expecting another dominant show from his side to set the tone for the long England tour.
The Indian team management is likely to stick to the same playing eleven, and will not try to disturb their winning combination. In the batting department. Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who failed in the first match, would like to rectify his mistakes in the second T20I against England, while in bowling department, pacers would like to display some disciplined bowling after leaking runs in the opening 10 overs of the first T20I.
On the other hand, England will be desperate to bounce back in the threematch series and would once again rely on opener Jos Buttler, who continued his purple patch of form with another half-century in the opening match. In order to put up a fight against the visitors, apart from Buttler, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales, and Eoin Morgan will have to quickly learn to read India's wrist spinners. While England spinner Adil Rashid did a fair job in the first outing, Moeen Ali was expensive and will have to be economical against the spin-friendly Indian batsmen. The English camp will also miss the services of pacer Tom Curran, who has been ruled out of the remaining T20Is and the ODI series owing to a left side strain.
How a series win will affect India and England ICC T20I ranking?
In terms of ICC Rankings, a 2-0 series lead will allow India to close the gap with second-placed Australia, while a whitewash will catapult them to second position, behind top-ranked Pakistan. Australia will have to win both their next two games in the ongoing tri-series in Zimbabwe to stay above India.
A loss on Friday will see England drop down to rank seven below New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies, respectively.
India on the brink of making T20I record
India stand on the cusp of a sixth successive T20I series win — a run stretching back to their 2-1 win over New Zealand at home in November 2017. In all, they have been unbeaten in bilateral T20I series since September last year.
Here are the playing 11 probables for India vs England 2nd T20I
India playing 11 probables: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, M S Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzuvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Suresh Raina, K L Rahul
England playing 11 probables: Eoin Morgan, Jake Ball, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball, Chris Jordan
When and where to watch India vs England match
Match Date: 06 July 2018, Friday
Match Timing: 22:00 IST, 16:30 GMT, 17:30 Local
Match Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, England
India vs England match will be broadcast on Sony Six, Sony Six HD in English Commentary. India vs England second T20Is will be available for live stream on Sony Liv app.
India vs England head to head
Total matches: 12
India: 6
England: 6
Likely weather conditions in Cardiff during India vs England 2nd T20I
The weather could play a part in the second T20I at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. After enjoying a sunny welcome both in Dublin and Manchester, the team was greeted to typical English grey skies, light rain and chill, when they arrived in Cardiff on Wednesday.
Here are a few things to know about India and England team ahead of second T20Is to be played at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, and who has said what before the clash:
IPL has helped us break barriers with England players, says Virat Kohli: The participation of English players in the IPL has only increased the "warmth" among rival players but on field, India skipper Virat Kohli expects a high intensity battle between both teams during the long England tour. While Jos Buttler stood out amongst the England players in the IPL, Kohli said the league helped them break the ice and know their rivals better.
With sensational century, Rahul relieved to break 564-day jinx: In-form Indian batsman KL Rahul has heaved a sigh of relief after finally breaking his chain of half-centuries with a sublime hundred against England in the opening T20 International of the three-match series. He scored 101 not out off 54 balls to help India beat England by eight wickets, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Until Tuesday, Rahul had gone 564 runs without breaching the three-figure mark. His last hundred also came against England, in the fifth Test at Chennai on December 16, 2016, wherein he scored 199 runs.
Morgan calls on England to play better against Kuldeep: England captain Eoin Morgan has admitted that his side need to perform much better against Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav if they want to keep alive their hopes in the ongoing three-match T20I series. England are currently trailing 0-1 in the T20I series after slumping to an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of India in the opening match at the Old Trafford on Tuesday.
England practice with spin-bowling machine to counter Kuldeep threat: England all-rounder Chris Jordan has insisted that his team doesn't have issues facing quality spin despite being foxed by Indian chinaman Kuldeep Yadav in the first T20 International of the three-match series. "We've been on a high in white-ball cricket for a while now. One game, one defeat, shouldn't change our confidence whatsoever. You still want to be on the front foot, and still want to play positive cricket. It was a good spell from Kuldeep Yadav, first of all, and then a very good innings from KL Rahul. They thoroughly deserved the win," said Jordan
Virat Kohli breaks another record, becomes fastest player to score 2000 T20I runs: Indian Cricket team captain Virat Kohli became the first Indian and fastest player to score 2000- run mark in T20I. Virat Kohli achieved this feat during the first of the three T20Is against England at Old Trafford, Manchester. Kohli, who needed just 8 runs to achieve the remarkable feat, reached the coveted mark in the 16th over when India were on 142/2. Only three batsmen have recorded the unique feat so far. New Zealand's Martin Guptill tops the list with 2271 runs under his belt in 73 innings. He is followed by former New Zealand star Brendon McCullum, who has 2140 runs in 71 innings. Recently, Pakistan's Shoaib Malik entered the 2000-run club. He achieved the feat against Zimbabwe in a match in Harare. The Pakistan batsman took 59 T20Is to score 2000 runs. Currently, Kohli is placed eighth in the ICC T20I Rankings for batsmen and is yet to hit a century in the shortest format.
Squads
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav.
England: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Jos Buttler (WK), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Dawid Malan.