After suffering a humiliating loss in the first game, India managed to square the series with a seven-wicket victory over England in the second T20 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The game featured two debutants for the hosts, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, and their youthful exuberance, especially from the former, helped the Men in Blue cross the finish line on Sunday night.
Eoin Morgan and company were defeated by Kishan’s blistering 56 and Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 73. With the series tied, both teams will play the third game on Tuesday, March 14 at the same venue. The British had their chances in the contest, but they couldn’t hold their foe on the mat. A defeat for each side could make the final two games of the series difficult.
WHAT SAYS THE PITCH ?
So far, the pitch in Ahmedabad has been ideal for batting. The pacers have had some support from the surface, but the bowlers have not yet had anything to rejoice for. Furthermore, in both games, the team batting second came out on top. The temperature would be in the mid-thirties, with a humidity level in the mid-tens.
WHO COULD BE ON THE GROUND ?
Rohit Sharma: After missing the first two T20Is, Rohit could be recalled to replace the struggling KL Rahul.
Ishan Kishan: It would be difficult to drop Rahul, but Kishan looked in fine form in the second T20I, scoring a fifty on debut. He keeps his place.
Virat Kohli: The Indian captain returned to form with a match-winning 73 in the most recent T20I. He’d be happy to extend his winning streak.
Shreyas Iyer: He did not get much of a chance to bat in the second T20I, but he added to the runs in the first T20I and is expected to bat at No.4.
Playing Combinations for IND vs ENG
India
KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli (C), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal
Bench:
Shikhar Dhawan, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Tewatia, Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Chahar
England
Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid
Bench:
Sam Billings, Reece Topley, Moeen Ali, Mark Wood, Liam Livingstone
