IND vs ENG: 3rd T20I Preview – Rejuvenated India aim to take complete control

After the heavy 8-wicket defeat in the first T20I, India bounced back in style and won the second T20I against England by 7 wickets to draw level in the five-match series. Debutant Ishan Kishan was the star of the show, scoring a whirlwind fifty to lay the foundation for an easy chase. Captain Virat Kohli also roared back to form and scored an unbeaten fifty to ensure India crossed the finishing line with the utmost ease.

Asked to bat first, England scored 164 for 6 in the allotted 20 overs. The visitors lost wickets at crucial junctures and consequently, their innings never got the impetus. Opener Jason Roy top-scored with 46 while the likes of Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan got the starts but failed to capitalise. For India, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur picked up two wickets each.

With the bat, India crossed the finishing line in the 18th over. The hosts were off to a poor start as Sam Curran dismissed KL Rahul for a 6-ball duck in the first over. But from thereon, everything fell in place for the Men in Blue. Kishan took the England bowlers to the cleaners and slammed 56 off just 32 balls. Kohli, on the other hand, remained unbeaten on 73 off 49 balls.

Match info:

3rd T20I: India vs England

Date: 16 March (Tuesday)

Time: 7:00 PM (IST)

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Head-to-head record:

Stat Attack:

This will be the 100th T20I for England captain Eoin Morgan.

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

Jofra Archer is 1 wicket away from completing 150 wickets across T20s.

Team News:

India:

After being rested for the first two T20Is, senior opener Rohit Sharma is set to return to the playing eleven for the third game. With Kishan impressing in the second game and Rahul’s struggle in the first two games, it would be interesting to see who partners Rohit at the top in the upcoming game.

England:

England are unlikely to tinker too much with their playing eleven after the defeat. They, however, could drop Tom Curran for Mark Wood after the former’s struggle in the second T20I. While Wood had conceded just 20 runs while taking one wicket in the first game before missing the second game due to an injury, Curran ended up giving away 26 runs in just two overs in the last game.

Probable XI: