It hasn’t been a collective performance from England in the first two of the five-match T20I series against India at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. They can’t repeat the same mistakes in Rajkot. The biggest wish for the management will be to get some quality starts in the powerplay from their opening batters.
In the first T20I, England lost both their openers in the first three overs. Phil Salt was undone by the extra pace and bounce from the left-arm angle of pacer Arshdeep Singh, while Ben Duckett couldn’t time the ball perfectly. In the second encounter, Salt was trapped by the short ball, while Duckett perished in the fourth over.
It was always up to their captain, Jos Buttler. In Kolkata, the T20I captain smashed a gritty knock of 68 runs in 44 balls, thanks to eight boundaries and a couple of boundaries at the strike rate of 154.55, despite losing their partners from the other end. In Chennai, he made his way to a fine 45-run knock in 30 balls, shouldering on two boundaries and three sixes.
Also Read: South Africa Youngster Earns ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer Of The Year 2024 Award
England was troubled with their middle order’s weakness against the spin. Harry Brook blamed the smog for his poor defensive sot against Varun Chakaravarthy to be dismissed on 17 off 14 balls, while Liam Livingstone could spend two balls for his duck in Kolkata.
England names an unchanged playing XI for Rajkot T20I
Jamie Smith, the wicket-keeper batter making his T20Idebut, showed his muscle with one boundary and a couple of sixes to celebrate 22 runs in 12 balls. But it was Brydon Carse who kept them in the contest with his powerful batting performances.
The Durham all-rounder drilled 31 runs in just 17 deliveries, shouldering on one boundary and three sixes at a strike rate of more than 180 to throw a challenging target of 166 runs in 20 overs. Jofra Archer’s pace was too hard to handle for Sanju Samson.
The aggressive batter, Abhishek Sharma, cracked three boundaries but was adjusted leg before the stumps against the extra pace of Mark Wood. India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, was played on by Carse, who soon sent back Dhruv Jurel. The Uttar Pradesh batter pulled the ball straight into the hands of the sub-fielder, Rehan Ahmed.
Hardik Pandya went back, having got a faint outside edge in trying to time the ball over the keeper’s head. Washington Sundar managed 26 runs in 19 deliveries, shouldering on three boundaries and one six. But the only issue for England was the number three batter, Tilak Verma, who shouldered the home side over the line with his unbeaten knock of 72 runs in 55 balls, thanks to four boundaries and five sixes at a strike rate of 130.91.
They can’t afford to slip from the position of being 2-0 down, But England’s captain was satisfied with the character and style in Chennai, as he felt aggressive batting would always be the right option because they would anyway lose the wickets against India’s three quality spinners.
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah Ruled Out Of Champions Trophy 2025? Veteran’s Fate Shoulders On This Report
“We can always improve, but we are happy with the style. They are always going to play three spinners; they are going to take some wickets. I’d much prefer if they do take wickets, we take them for some runs as well.” Buttler expressed at the end of the Chennai clash.
England will train at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on January 27 before taking on the Sky-led side in the next evening. They have retained the same playing eleven from the last game.
We can always improve, but we are happy with the style. They are always going to play three spinners; they are going to take some wickets. I’d much prefer if they do take wickets, we take them for some runs as well.
England’s Playing XI vs India For 3rd T20I
Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.