ENG vs IND: 1st T20I Preview – Experimental India face power-packed England
After a disappointing end for the Indian team during the rescheduled Test match against England, the Men in Blue will now take on the Three Lions in a three-match T20I series starting from July 7 (Thursday) at the Rose Bowl, Southampton.
In a big boost for team India, their permanent skipper Rohit Sharma is back in the Indian squad and was recently seen in the nets to prepare for the all-important T20I series. Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli and star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will join the Indian squad after the first match.
For England, the home team will be under the new leadership of Jos Buttler and they will be looking to continue their good form in the limited-overs format. The English team looks strong on paper with some prominent batters like Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Jason Roy among others included in the squad.
The pitch at Southampton is expected to provide something for both batters and bowlers. Skipper winning the toss might look to bowl first and restrict the opponent team to a small total before chasing it down.
England
A lot will depend on Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills in the bowling department. They will be tested against the strong Indian batting line-up.
Jos Buttler (C and wk), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Reece Topley, Tymal Mills, Matthew Parkinson.
India
As mentioned above, Kohli will be missing the first T20I match which will give the opportunity to other young batters to prove their worth. In form batter, Deepak Hooda will be looking to give his best and make a strong case for himself in India’s main squad.
Rohit Sharma ©, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan.