IND vs ENG: 3rd T20I Preview – India look to wrap up series in Rajkot
India and England lock horns in the third T20I at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 28. The Three Lions have lost the first two T20Is and will have to win on Tuesday to stay afloat in the five-match series.
The first T20I in Kolkata was a one-sided affair as the Men in Blue made light work of a 133-run target. Abhishek Sharma smashed a blistering half-century after Varun Chakaravarthy bagged a three-for. The home side reached the target with seven wickets and 43 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, the second T20I in Chennai was a riveting affair as India chased down a 166-run total with two wickets and four balls in the bank. Tilak Varma scored an important half-century and held one end up even as India kept losing wickets from the other end. The southpaw smashed a boundary off the second delivery in the 20th over to take his team home.
India might want to bring Mohammed Shami into the attack in place of a spinner as the Niranjan Shah Stadium might not offer too much turn. The Bengal seamer can come into the side in place of Dhruv Jurel, as India might not need a lot of depth on what is expected to be a batting paradise.
Meanwhile, there is enough firepower in the England bowling attack, but the batters will have to step up and convert their starts into substantial scores. Apart from Jos Buttler, the other English batters have looked in a hurry to score runs. However, they will find the conditions better for batting on Tuesday.
Pitch Report:
The Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot is expected to produce a run-fest. The average first-innings score at this stadium is 189, validating the fact that the pitches are ideal for batting. Bowlers will have to think on their feet and bowl according to their fields. The margin for error will be minimal.
Predicted XI:
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
England: Phil Salt (wk), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
