After a series win in the ODIs, MS Dhoni and his young side face off a new-look England in the one-off T20 international on Sunday
After a series win in the ODIs, MS Dhoni and his young side face off a new-look England in the one-off T20 international on Sunday.
After that odd loss in the final ODI game against the Poms, the Men In Blue hold an advantage over their opponents as they seek to bring the curtains down on what has been a mixed tour.
Having suffered a 3-1 defeat in the Test series, the ODI series win somewhat papered over the cracks for the Indians. The inclusion of Suresh Raina brought a fresh new approach as far as attacking display is concerned. Young batsmen such as Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan too fared better but the form of Virat Kohli is still a cause of concern for the team management. Kohli’s run of poor scores continued in the shorter format and the batsman would be keen to end the tour on a merry note.
Though they flopped in the final ODI game, the opening pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan has fared well in the series so far. Suresh Raina performed well in the series and deservedly walked away with the Man of the Series award. Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni, too, added some runs with the bat. Remains to be seen whether the team management do give a call-up for youngsters, Karn Sharma and Sanju Samson, who have done well on the T20 front.
As far as bowling is concerned, the Indians enjoyed greater success in the ODIs, with Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar having a decent run with the ball. Not to forget the spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin also proved a thorn in the English batting line-up.
From England’s point of view, Joe Root, who scored his maiden ODI ton, will look to continue in similar fashion going into the final T20 game. The hosts have named uncapped batsman Jason Roy in their 14-man squad and it will be interesting to see if he is played or not.
Roy is joined by the recalled Ravi Bopara and James Taylor. On the Tim Bresnan front, the all-rounder misses out with a shoulder injury so skipper Eoin Morgan has a tough call to make. With Stuart Broad, England’s regular T20 captain, unavailable due to a knee injury, the team will be led by Eoin Morgan.
Teams:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Dhawal Kulkarni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.
