ENG vs IND | 1st T20I | Preview, Prediction, Probable XI, CREX XI

The caravan of the Indian tour of England moves to its T20I leg with the 1st game of the three-match series set to take place at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Thursday, July 07.

With Eoin Morgan calling it quits, it is a start of a new era in English cricket, as new skipper Jos Buttler will be looking to stamp his authority from the word go.

Buttler has been in sensational form over the course of the last few months, and he will be looking to add another feather to his cap in this series as he aims to beat a side that this English team has not beaten in this format since their resurgence five years ago.

India and England have played three bilateral T20I rubbers over the course of the last five years, and each of them were won by the then Virat Kohli-led unit- 2-1 & 2-1 in 2017 & 2018 and 3-2 in 2019.

The last time India were in the UK for a T20I series, Rohit Sharma smashed a match-winning hundred in the decider to claim the series. Four years later, Rohit returns as captain at a time when he is in desperate need of a few runs following a lean few months with the bat.

India will be without the likes of Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah in the 1st T20I. However, they still have enough ammunition in the tank, with the likes of Harshal Patel, Ishan Kishan, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar well in sync with the conditions and the format.

England will once again pose a threat with their all-out disdain with the bat, but in Reece Topley and David Willey, they also have enough ammunition to trouble the Indians up front.

Matt Parkinson and Moeen Ali will lead the spin department, while the onus of spearheading the death overs will be on Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan.

Match Details:

Match: England vs India, 1st T20I

Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton

Date & Time: July 7 at 10:30 PM IST

Live Streaming: Sony Liv App

Pitch Report:

The surface at the Rose Bowl is ideally balanced, keeping both bowlers and the batters in the game.

The average 1st innings score in 9 games here is 168, and the team defending has won on five occasions.

Head-To-Head:

Matches Played: 19

England Won: 9

India Won: 10

No Result: 0

Probable Playing XI:

England: Jos Buttler (C & WK), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Reece Topley, Tymal Mills, Matt Parkinson

India: Rohit Sharma ©, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan/Arsheep Singh/Umran Malik, Yuvzendra Chahal

CREX XI Suggestion:

Wicket-keeper: Jos Buttler, Dinesh Karthik

Batters: Rohit Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Deepak Hooda, Jason Roy

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Moeen Ali

Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, David Willey, Yuzvendra Chahal

Captain: Jos Buttler

Vice-captain: Rohit Sharma