It’s a contest between the number one and two of the ICC T20I ranking. India and England are set to lock horns in the T20I bilateral series after more than 15 months. The first of the three-match series will be played at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground in Southampton. While both sides come into the contest with a win in their last T20I series, England will be having a psychological edge over the visitors thanks to their triumph in COVID-19 delayed Edgbaston Test. After being on top of the match in the first innings, India suffered a 7-wicket defeat at the hands of England.
Banking on brilliant centuries by Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, the English side chased a total of 378 without real hiccups. However, with the transition into colour jerseys, India will be eager to leave the defeat behind and retain its pole position in ICC rankings. In form, Deepak Hooda, high from the confidence of his quickfire century against Ireland, is likely to get his maiden game in England.
England, on other hand, will look to make the most of their winning momentum. The English side will play with a new white ball skipper, Jos Buttler after outgoing Eoin Morgan announced retirement from international last week. Buttler had been deputy to Morgan in white-ball cricket since 2015.
England (ENG) vs India (IND) Possible Starting XI:
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan.
England: Jos Buttler (Captain), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Reece Topley, Tymal Mills, Matthew Parkinson.
England vs India squads:
England squad for T20I series against India: Jos Buttler (Captain), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Richard Gleeson, Philip Salt, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Matthew Parkinson, Reece Topley.
India squad for T20I series against England: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
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