IND vs ENG | 3rd T20: Experiments to continue as sides seek domination

Both England and India could not have made the five-match long T20I series any more riveting with either side having tasted a resounding success and an equally hurting loss in the first two games of the series.

Now, with the series level at 1-1 and three more games to go, both the hosts and the tourists have all to play for in terms of winning the series and finding their perfect combinations going into the World T20.

Having faced a big loss in the first game where England ripped open all the flaws in their system, the hosts came back sharply in the second game with the approach of not holding back with the bat. The bowling which looked lacklustre and short of match practice in the first game looked sharper with good plans and execution from the bowlers in all phases of play.

A great effort with the ball was backed outstandingly by batsmen led by debutant Ishan Kishan and skipper Virat Kohli, as the duo batted with supreme confidence and immaculate precision to deflate the England side.

Morgan conceded India had them under pressure from the word go and that they were dragged out of their comfort zone in the second game. However, he emphasised that the tourists are not running away from trying a few things differently.

The contrasting outcomes in the first two games established how closely this series is going to be and it will depend on which team gets it right on a particular day to seal the deal and the series.

Out of both sides, India have more questions to ask of England who have more or less established playing XI barring debates around one or two spots. Kishan’s debut at the top of the order brought the fresh perspective Kohli was talking about before the start of the series, but he entered the team at the expense of Dhawan, who was playing the first game, at the place of Rohit Sharma. Kohli had said that Sharma was resting for the first couple of games, and hence putting Kishan’s dream debut in perspective, the selection for the top order continues to be a riddle for the team management on whom to leave out among Rohit, Kishan and KL Rahul.

For England, the decision to leave out Moeen Ali from the playing XI must have been taken considering the crowding of right-handers in the Indian top order. However, the inclusion of Kishan at the top and Rishabh Pant in the middle will make the case stronger for the off-spinner to get back a spot in the XI on the basis of his ability to take the ball away from southpaws and providing Morgan with another angle of attack against the duo who has been tasked to take the game to the English camp.

India vs England: Match Details

Match No.-03

Date and Time: March 16, 07:00 PM IST, 01:30 PM IST

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports, Hotstar

Pitch conditions

Pitches in the first two games of the series have been two-paced with the team batting second having a significant advantage over the team batting first.

The balls were jumping off from length in the first T20I while in the second game, Indian pacers used cutters and slower balls to good effect on the surface that was gripping.

India will look to have a surface supporting a bit more turn and bounce than the last two surfaces while England will hope to extract pace and bounce like in the first game of the series.

Team News

India

Rohit Sharma should walk back in the playing XI if Kohli’s word during the toss in the first game has to be taken at face value. However, Kohli, the skipper has a tendency of saying one thing and doing exactly the opposite, and hence the uncertainty looms around the Indian top order.

Kishan did more than enough to deserve another go at the top of the order, but that leave KL Rahul vulnerable after a string of really low scores in both games of the series. He has looked like a pale shadow of the batsman he has been and really looked tentative at the crease, and hence his case will be nothing short of a quagmire for Kohli and the team management.

The bowling department should be unchanged with Hardik Pandya completing his quota of four overs in the last game. India have hinted at playing with extended batting order and hence Kohli is unlikely to walk away from the tactics of playing only five bowlers. But again, Kohli can do anything.

Strongest XI

Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal

England

Mark Wood missed the last game due to a niggle and his replacement Tom Curran was treated with disdain by Ishan Kishan right from his first ball. Despite the management rating Curran highly, he is likely to be shown the door for with a returning Wood or an all-round Moeen Ali.

Morgan has been hesitant to back his best with the ball and instead relied on playing matchups according to batsmen at a certain position for India. However, Archer can be given rest owing to his recurring elbow injury.

The batting order is likely to be unchanged with all batsmen from the top such as Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow have not looked out of sorts. However, Buttler will be hungry for runs after walking back to the pavilion on a golden duck while Malan will try to find his touch back after he struggled to time the ball against deceptive Indian bowling.

Strongest XI

Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid