*Official* India v England T20 International series in Ahmedabad

[honestbharani]

Nah, lets face it, batting 2nd under the lights is a huge advantage as both matches have shown.

It is but the way I see it is this:

England attacked India with some surprises plans in the first game. But they came across as ways that surprised India than strategies that India cannot counter. Bowling short and into the pitch is something most IPL attacks do and these batsmen do have the ability to cope with it but having Rashid bowl at the left handed Dhawan first up was very unexpected and it showed, India were just not prepared and everyone seemed rattled. But I do not see that repeating if they try it again. And I dont think they have too many other arrows in their quiver with the attack England have.

For India, they have not gone into their default plan for LO games in India yet. I kinda expect Rohit and Axar to come back next game, maybe for Rahul and Pant. And that kind of attack on a slow low wicket (sidebar: it was funny to see Morgan say yesterday's wicket was slow and low) where the ball can stop on the batsman and where the ball will spin is more of a default plan/strategy for India at home.

I mean, I still think England are the best LO side in the world irrespective of what happens this series. But they definitely need to have a better game plan against spin than just YOLOing it all the time.

 

[Janu9]

wait wtf

thought kishan had played some kind of international cricket already

Debut in t20i yesterday.

Why is Wood not playing?

Rotation policy Sinks them.
Or Good idea to give chance to others.

I wish Rohit replace Rahul tomorrow in 3rd T20i. Eng need Drastic changes too, Mo should play

It is but the way I see it is this:

England attacked India with some surprises plans in the first game. But they came across as ways that surprised India than strategies that India cannot counter. Bowling short and into the pitch is something most IPL attacks do and these batsmen do have the ability to cope with it but having Rashid bowl at the left handed Dhawan first up was very unexpected and it showed, India were just not prepared and everyone seemed rattled. But I do not see that repeating if they try it again. And I dont think they have too many other arrows in their quiver with the attack England have.

For India, they have not gone into their default plan for LO games in India yet. I kinda expect Rohit and Axar to come back next game, maybe for Rahul and Pant. And that kind of attack on a slow low wicket (sidebar: it was funny to see Morgan say yesterday's wicket was slow and low) where the ball can stop on the batsman and where the ball will spin is more of a default plan/strategy for India at home.

I mean, I still think England are the best LO side in the world irrespective of what happens this series. But they definitely need to have a better game plan against spin than just YOLOing it all the time.

Toss is prime factor besides Dew koz after 8.15 pm plenty of dew at Ahmedabad even its not Locate near sea.

Bowling side suffers while bowls in 2nd innings.

Morgan should hand over ball to Mo or A. Rashid First over, vif india won toss tomorrow (dew starts after 8 overs) Better Grip by Bowling (spin) side always helpful in india

India definatley will bowls first, if win toss again.

I would like Rohit & Saini in the side tomorrow

 

[Manee]

One thing which was very surprising about the game was just how well India bowled. Thakur and Pandya both bowled very well and surprised me greatly with that. We expect Chahal and Washington to bowl well and then it was good to see Bhuveneshwar bowl so well, as well.

India should try to persist with KL Rahul - he doesn't have such a stellar record for no reason. Also they should keep an eye on Aggarwal in the T20 format because he had a strong IPL also.

 

[Janu9]

16-MAR-2021, 07:00 PM

3rd T20I (N), Ahmedabad, Mar 16 2021, England tour of India

PREVIEW

Attacking sides eye series lead as turning pitch awaits India and England

Does Rohit replace Rahul? Should England pick Moeen?

Big Picture

The third instalment of one of white-ball cricket's most compelling rivalries resumes on Tuesday. England, laggards in T20Is for long despite having a World Cup crown, have torn down templates and laid down the marker in the Eoin Morgan era. India, winners of the inaugural edition, have only now realised the need to go back to the very formula that brought them success in South Africa all those years ago: youngsters.

While this isn't to say there is no place for experienced players, the presence of fresher legs, dynamic players coming in with rich IPL experience and without the fear of failure seems to have given this side a new perspective, a refreshing change from the recent past. It is something England, who many including Virat Kohli believe are favourites for the T20 World Cup in October-November, simply can't look past.

The story of England's tour, beyond their Chennai heroics, has been one of disappointment. Their rest and rotation policy has come in for sharp focus from the outside, even if they may be clear of their priorities from within. All said and done, they have a settled squad, and a combination that can tear down any opponent on a day.

Jos Buttler. Jason Roy. Dawid Malan. Morgan. Ben Stokes. Moeen Ali. Jonny Bairstow. These are all blockbuster cricketers, who will all be up against each other on this very ground in a month's time. For now though, there is a series at stake, the first step for which they can take on Tuesday should they win. So far, both games have been won by the side batting second. While there hasn't been heavy dew, conditions have slightly eased out for the side chasing, which makes the toss vital. Will it be three in three then for the chasing side?

Form guide
(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WLLWW
England LWWWW

In the spotlight
Virat Kohli was emphatic when he said KL Rahul is one of India's first-choice openers in T20Is. Now with two failures behind him and a resting Rohit Sharma ready to come in, Rahul needs a score, even if there may not be an imminent threat to his place. However, it is undeniable that the competition at the top of the order is stifling, with Ishan Kishan becoming the latest entrant into the roulette. Rahul has been in two bubbles across the last five months. He didn't play the Australia Tests; wasn't chosen for the England Tests either. Would it have made better sense for the management to have rested him or even just allowed him some match-time for Karnataka at the Vijay Hazare Trophy? Answers we may not have for now, but either way, he'll need to find form quickly.

Moeen Ali had an excellent second Test before flying home to elicit the rest-rotation debate. He's now back after two weeks at home, but couldn't get a look in for the first two matches. Ali is no stranger to Indian conditions, having toured here twice earlier apart from having had a full IPL season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. With the surface likely to offer more turn and India potentially having two left-hand batsmen - Kishan and Rishabh Pant - in the top five, Morgan could be tempted to bank on Ali's offspin in addition to the batting depth he offers.


Team news

Kohli said at the toss of the series opener that Rohit Sharma was rested for the first two games, so he might slot in on Tuesday, for Rahul.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma/KL Rahul, 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Mark Wood missed the second T20I with a bruised heel, but Morgan said the injury was "not a big worry". "Hopefully he'll be available for the game in two days' time, but if not, the fourth match," Morgan said on Sunday hoping for Wood's return. Given the surface - and red soil instead of black soil - Morgan expects spin to play a big part, which could pave way for Ali's inclusion at the expense of Tom Curran. If Wood is fit, they may have to leave out Chris Jordan as well.

England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood/Chris Jordan

Pitch and conditions
The match will be played on a red-soil deck. While it may not be crumbly, there will definitely be more turn on offer. This is something Morgan alluded to while speaking of the changes they may be forced to make for Tuesday's fixture.

Stats and trivia

Kohli's unbeaten 73 on Saturday was his 26th T20I fifty, the most in T20I history. Vice-captain Rohit Sharma is next best with 25, while Ireland's Paul Stirling and Australia's David Warner are joint-third with 18 half-centuries.

Ben Stokes has struggled for batting rhythm so far. Since 2018, his death overs strike rate is pegged at 140, having been dismissed ten times. This is in sharp contrast to his death overs numbers when he has opened: 52 runs off 23 balls at a strike rate of 226. This isn't to suggest he should open, but it just proves perhaps batting higher up gives him the best chance of exploding at the death. For a minimum of 100 balls faced, Morgan has the best strike rate: 227.64 at the death. That's 494 runs in 217 balls with 14 dismissals.

England have successfully defended a score of 180 or less only once since the T20 World Cup in 2016.


Quotes
"I had to shift the focus back to the basics of the game. Probably thinking of too many variables from the outside. The management spoke to me about things. Anushka [Sharma, his wife] is here so she also keeps speaking to me about things. I had a special chat with AB de Villiers before the game. He told me to just watch the ball. That's exactly what I did."
Virat Kohli after hitting a match-winning half-century in the second T20I

"The next game is on the red soil that looks like Ayers Rock, so it's probably going to turn. These are the challenges that we want to play against. Regardless of how we do in the series we want to learn as much as we can and get that experience under our belt for the World Cup."

Eoin Morgan is under no illusion on what England will come up against on Tuesday

Attacking sides eye series lead as turning pitch awaits India and England

England may bring in Moeen Ali, as India ponder over KL Rahul's low scores

www.espncricinfo.com

 

[ankitj]

When Rohit comes back, Ishan Kishan goes out IMO even though he played a great debut knock last game. Can't get too muddled about what is your best combination based on 1-2 games that some of the newbies will get to prove themselves.

 

[Apex Predator]

When Rohit comes back, Ishan Kishan goes out IMO even though he played a great debut knock last game. Can't get too muddled about what is your best combination based on 1-2 games that some of the newbies will get to prove themselves.

In my view it has to be Rahul.. He was not up to the mark in IPl when is S/R was unacceptable. KXIP lost few crunch matches due to that. Then in Aus T20Is he showed similar signs &, batted slowly. We can't afford slow starts in Powerplay. Rohit also takes 1-2 over to settle down. A left handed dasher in Kishan is crucial for India.
Morgan was so scared to bring Rashid early coz of Ishan.. It helped Kohli as well. Rashid again did troubled a set Kohli later

 

[Senile Sentry]

Ishan Kishen is in many ways a Pant but with better timing. Excellent find, and must be persisted with at opening.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should need to be given the nudge once the t20 world cup is over.

 

[ankitj]

I would like India to go in with "proven" players into the world t20. Rahul, Pant and Iyer are proven. As good as some of the young talent is, we should avoid having too any unproven/rookie players on evidence of just a handful of games. Rahul is immensely gifted, no less than Pant. I wouldn't want him dropped. Had a great series of NZ too.

 

[Senile Sentry]

I would like India to go in with "proven" players into the world t20. Rahul, Pant and Iyer are proven. As good as some of the young talent is, we should avoid having too any unproven/rookie players on evidence of just a handful of games. Rahul is immensely gifted, no less than Pant. I wouldn't want him dropped. Had a great series of NZ too.

KL is going through a rut this season. And India should always look at the best XI out there, with the available talent pool they can and should have players who can insta step up seamlessly. You can't bench in form dasher like Kishen just to let KL find his form. He looked completely out of sorts in this series so far.

 

[cnerd123]

So surprise surprise, Covid-19 cases have been on the rise in Gujarat. Geez I wonder why.

Remaining games to be played behind closed doors. God I hope there is none of that fake crowd noise played during the broadcasts.

 

[honestbharani]

So surprise surprise, Covid-19 cases have been on the rise in Gujarat. Geez I wonder why.

Remaining games to be played behind closed doors. God I hope there is none of that fake crowd noise played during the broadcasts.

TBF they have been on the rise everywhere, people have just gotten too complacent about masks and stuff. They were still seeing more ratio in rural areas till very recently though. And the big open stadium may actually not have been that much of a risk but of course, we cant ****ing let our friends be seated one seat away from each other. Its 50% capacity and we will have sections fully empty and sections fully packed is like the antithesis of how to move on safely with life with this virus about.

 

[aitorita12]

Rishabh Pant just keeps failing in T20s repeatedly. Another failure in 2nd T20.

Can't understand why he is picked for India in any format. His test runs are the definition of fluke too - never seen a player getting dropped chances so much before reaching 50. Samson and Kishan have much better IPL records than Pant too, so why Pant is getting these chances? The privilege of being from a certain community..

Anyways, I still prefer Samson over Kishan. Kishan's temperament in question after he played a reckless reverse. Samson, more experienced and more temperament might prove crucial in World Cup. But Pant should never play again

 

[Janu9]

Rishabh Pant just keeps failing in T20s repeatedly. Another failure in 2nd T20.

Can't understand why he is picked for India in any format. His test runs are the definition of fluke too - never seen a player getting dropped chances so much before reaching 50. Samson and Kishan have much better IPL records than Pant too, so why Pant is getting these chances? The privilege of being from a certain community..

Anyways, I still prefer Samson over Kishan. Kishan's temperament in question after he played a reckless reverse. Samson, more experienced and more temperament might prove crucial in World Cup. But Pant should never play again

He did his job in 2nd t20i with Good Strike rate.
Guy hits centuries in England / Australia & India, besides this, he got out in the 90's as many as 5 times, also took 11 catches in single test, Behind the stump he inspire bowlers everytime.>>> now you tell me why you think he should not pick in any format for india? He will
Be there as keeper for now till he starts dropping too many.

Do you know he had 9 scores of 30's in a Row in test? @:asian record

In india Bharat is better keeper but he is not yet better batsman

 

[Janu9]

No Spectators for next 3 t20i at Ahmedabad as Corona cases increase in the city including today's 3rd t20i & 18-20

Good idea koz how the hail
You allow 62000 (1st) 67,000(2nd)( 70% without mask) Crowd in cricket matches but allow only 200 people in all other Function?

Dose not make sense

 

[Nintendo]

I would like India to go in with "proven" players into the world t20. Rahul, Pant and Iyer are proven. As good as some of the young talent is, we should avoid having too any unproven/rookie players on evidence of just a handful of games. Rahul is immensely gifted, no less than Pant. I wouldn't want him dropped. Had a great series of NZ too.

Pants t20I record is underwhelming over a decently long sample size now, and he had A dreadful time of things last IPL. Not saying he should be dropped but claiming he's "secure" is a bit of a stretch.

 

[Niall]

Pants t20I record is underwhelming over a decently long sample size now, and he had A dreadful time of things last IPL. Not saying he should be dropped but claiming he's "secure" is a bit of a stretch.

Agreed.

He had a good match on Sunday, but he needs a really good year which obviously includes this series and the IPL to be a guaranteed starter for the world cup.

 

[Apex Predator]

Pant tends to mistime a lot of shots.. Maybe a timing issue. But he has tried to rectify that recently & getting some success.
Kishan has a better batswing & Timing. I think he has faster reflexes as well. Lot of Similarities of a Young de Kock I'd say.

 

[_00_deathscar]

Rishabh Pant just keeps failing in T20s repeatedly. Another failure in 2nd T20.

Can't understand why he is picked for India in any format. His test runs are the definition of fluke too - never seen a player getting dropped chances so much before reaching 50. Samson and Kishan have much better IPL records than Pant too, so why Pant is getting these chances? The privilege of being from a certain community..

Anyways, I still prefer Samson over Kishan. Kishan's temperament in question after he played a reckless reverse. Samson, more experienced and more temperament might prove crucial in World Cup. But Pant should never play again

So, tell me, on average, how often do you whack one off to that life-size poster of Rishabh Pant in your room on a daily basis?

 

[Shri]

pant's problem was his undefined role in the XI so far

he won't have problems from now on until the next ****up from the management/panauti

 

[CodeOfWisden]

Pant will be the best t20 batsman in the world, he just needs some time.