India and England are back to facing each other in the 3rd T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, The series is level at 1-1 after the first two games. Thus the next game is crucial for both teams as they seek to take a lead in the series. Both teams are ready to make experiments as part of their quest to search for the best XI to build-up to the World T20 later this year. More about the 3rd T20I preview in detail below.
India had a near-perfect game in the second T20I with both their bowlers and their batsmen playing key roles to help them win the game. Ishan Kishan rose with the bat as Virat Kohli was back in form. KL Rahul missed his opportunity for the second time straight, and Suryakumar Yadav was not needed with the bat. The power of Rishabh Pant and Kishan was too good for the English bowlers. However, with Rahul failing twice and Rohit available for selection, India’s experiment will continue. This time Kishan will open with his Mumbai Indians skipper who has seen him bloom from close quarters in Mumbai Indias in the last two seasons.
India’s bowling line-up might see no changes given that everyone played their role to perfection in the last game. Hardik bowling his full quota of overs meant that India played an extra batsman and the team looked more balanced. The blueprint is expected to remain the same for the 3rd T20I.
England, on the other hand, could not adjust to the low and slow conditions of the pitch in the second game. England skipper Eoin Morgan admitted of the same and said that Indian bowlers were smart enough to expose their weakness. However, he has asserted that playing more games in surfaces like these will help them in their preparations for the World T20 later this year.
“I suppose the difference was in the wicket we played and how we adapted. It was different wicket from the one we batted in the first game. The pitch was slow and low and one thing that does is expose our weakness on these surfaces a little bit,” said Morgan at the post-match virtual media interaction on Sunday night.
“We don’t play a lot on slow, low wickets and the more that we can do that, the better. You only become better in these conditions by playing in them and making mistakes” he further added.
The England players are capable enough to still bounce back and make a strong statement and Morgan will expect the same from his players. They too are in that experimental phase and will possibly come up with more combinations.
Head To Head
- Total matches played: 16
- India won: 8
- England won: 8
Pitch & Weather Conditions For 3rd T20I
The pitch that was used for the second game was a lot lower and slower compared to the first game. The spinners were in play more on this wicket with change of pace being one of the key options to deceive the batsmen. We can expect more of the same in terms of conditions that allows both the bowlers and the batters to stay in the game. Virat Kohli & Ishan Kishan proved that the pitch was not bad for batting either.
Team News
Rohit Sharma will make a comeback after being rested for the first two games as was the verdict of skipper Kohli. KL Rahul‘s back-to-back failures all the more establish the comeback of the Hitman. Shikhar Dhawan might continue to be benched in the remaining games. The rest of the side should remain unchanged.
For England, Mark Wood was out with a bit of an injury. If he recovers in time, he should replace Tom Curran who was expensive in the second game. England might also turn to Moeen Ali seeing how the pitch behaved in the second match and the need for two spinners in the lineup. In that case, Sam Curran too might be benched.
Squads For 3rd T20I Between India & England
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Tewatia, Ishan Kishan
England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Joss Buttler, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer