With the Test done and dusted, India and England will lock horns with each other in a three-match T20I series, which starts on July 7 (Thursday) at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. The preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup begin with the series and captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid will begin to finalize their squad for the marquee competition.
India, who have played four T20s (vs Ireland, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire) in the last 10 days, have won 13 of the 15 completed T20Is since tumbling out of the group stages of last year’s World Cup. They will keep the momentum going in the upcoming games leading to the T20 World Cup.
England, on the other hand, will begin a new era under Jos Buttler. There is unlikely to be a change in playing style, an ode to the enduring white-ball prowess of the team for seven years now.
Match Details
1st T20I – England (ENG) vs India (IND)
Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton
Date & Time: 7th July at 10:30 PM IST and 6:00 PM Local Time
Pitch Report
Five of the seven games here this season have been won by teams batting first. Anything over 170 would be a good total on this wicket.
Predicted Playing XI
India (IND): Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
England (ENG): Jason Roy, Phillip Salt, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Matthew Parkinson, Reece Topley
Match Predictions
Both teams have enjoyed rich success in this format in the last few years. It will be an intriguing contest in Southampton, but India are expected to come out on top and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Betway has also placed their odds in favour of the Men in Blue at 2.10.
ENG vs IND – Fantasy Team Predictions
Fantasy Team 1: Dinesh Karthik, Jos Buttler, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda (VC), Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone (C), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, David Willey
Fantasy Team 2: Jos Buttler (C), Sanju Samson (VC), Jason Roy, Deepak Hooda, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan, Moeen Ali, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Chris Jordan
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