IND vs ENG: 1st T20I Preview – Top two T20I teams ready for a sizzling battle

After a fierce battle in the Test series, India and England will lock horns in the five-match T20I series starting from March 12. All the matches are set to be played in Ahmedabad itself. Unlike the Test series, England have a full strength squad at their disposal while India too are at full strength apart from Jasprit Bumrah who is set to get married soon.

With the T20 World Cup to be played in India later this year, this series has a lot of significance. England, led by Eoin Morgan, would want to make full use of this contest as far as the mega event is concerned. India would also like to iron out a few of their shortcomings in every department.

Match Info

1st T20I – India vs England

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Time: 7 PM IST

Head to Head

Stat Attack

Virat Kohli is 72 runs away from completing 3,000 runs in T20Is for India. He will be the first batsman to reach this landmark.

Rohit Sharma is 26 runs away from completing 9,000 runs across T20s.

Team News

India

India have handed maiden call-ups to Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav for this series and it remains to be seen if they get a chance. Rahul Tewatia also earned the India call-up for the first time but the status of his fitness test remains unclear. Varun Chakravarthy has failed the fitness test while T Natarajan is also expected to miss the opening T20I. Meanwhile, team India also welcome back Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the fold who has recovered from his injury.

England

England have not much to worry about in terms of injury apart from Jofra Archer as they have all the players fresh and available. Most of them will not have the baggage of losing the Test series and will go into the series with a fresh mindset. Archer’s availability is the only issue for them at the moment. Also, it remains to be seen if Bairstow opens the innings or bats at four.

Probable XI