New Delhi: India tasted first defeat at home under Virat Kohli in the third and final ODI match in Kolkata. But India won the series 2-1, thanks to wins in Pune and Cuttack.
And Kohli & Co will hope to make the most of Thursday’s first Twenty20 International against England. It will be their last limited-overs outing ahead of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in UK, which starts from June 1.
It’s a different format, but for Team India, it will be about utilising their limited overs experience, and testing the bench strength.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
PREVIEW
As India switch gears to the shortest format, all eyes will be on the likes of seasoned campaigners Suresh Raina and Ashish Nehra.
Both Nehra and Raina have been out of the national side since the ICC World T20 in March last year and will be eyeing the upcoming T20Is against England to stage a comeback.
Besides the duo, the series will also be a test for the likes of promising batsmen Rishabh Pant, Mandeep Singh and Manish Pandey and the spin duo of Parvez Rasool and Yuzvendra Chahal.
India will hope to end their opening woes and try a new combination with Lokesh Rahul and Pant at the top followed by the settled middle order comprising Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Raina.
But don’t be surprised if skipper Kohli himself opens the innings. He was in imperious form in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League as an opener.
The bowling department will have the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Pandya apart from Nehra while Bhuvneshwar Kumar may get a look-in depending on the conditions.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra is most certainly to get a look-in ahead of Chahal with Jammu and Kashmir off-spinner Rasool.
England, after pipping India by five runs in the third ODI and avoiding a whitewash, will be aiming to finish their dismal tour on a winning note. The visitors had earlier lost the five-match Test rubber 0-4.
The visitors have added more firepower in their bowling with the addition of right-armer Chris Jordan and left-arm quick Tymal Mills.
The English side will once again bank on their top order, comprising the likes of Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali to post a competitive total on the board.
All-rounder Ben Stokes has been a revelation with both the bat and the ball in the ODIs and England will hope he repeats his feats in the shortest version.
LIKELY XIs
INDIA: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Parvez Rasool, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah
ENGLAND: Sam Billings, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Jake Ball
TV listing: Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1 — ENGLISH; Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD 3 — HINDI
Live streaming: Hotstar
Date: January 26, 2017 (Thursday)
Time: 14:30 PM IST
Venue: Green Park, Kanpur
Source: Zee News