India’s Predicted XI For Bengaluru T20I Against England
Mar 2, 2019 at 1:11 PM
Virat Kohli-led India squared the three-match T20I series against England at Nagpur and the winner-to take all-decider will take place in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
In the second T20I match past Sunday, India’s Jasprit Bumrah defended eight runs off the last over and helped India avoid another defeat. As a skipper, Kohli is yet to lose a series at home and in the wake to maintain his winning streak, he would go all guns blazing in his claimed second home Bengaluru.
Sportzwiki’s presents India’s predicted XI for Bengaluru T20I game:
- KL Rahul
Having scored an impressive 71 off 47 balls on a tricky wicket in Nagpur, KL Rahul fetched some laurels for himself despite failing to perform in the ODIs. Giving an impression of performing well under pressure, Rahul would edge past Rishabh Pant and Mandeep Singh to cement his place for the opening slot in Bengaluru.
2. Virat Kohli
Bengaluru’s favorite son Virat Kohli would fancy batting up the order in the decider against England on Wednesday. Having played in Chinnaswamy stadium for around a decade now, the skipper knows a bit or two about the ground. Virat has been a successful opener in past, given his last season’s IPL record, where he amassed more than 900 runs.
King Kohli, as Nasser Hussain calls him, have had a decent start in both T20I matches but couldn’t convert into a big innings, a shortcoming he would like to rectify on his preferred ground.
3. Suresh Raina
The 30-year-old has been India’s most successful batsman in the shortest format and even has a century to his name batting at number three slot. Raina, on his return, has scored 34 and seven in two the T20Is at a strike-rate touching 125. The part-time spinner was instrumental in India’s win with the ball too, playing a role of the fifth bowler impressively by conceding just 30 runs in four overs.
4. Yuvraj Singh
The veteran all-rounder has been an integral part of the side and is likely to retain his spot for the third T20I despite a lukewarm show in past two games. Having scored just 16 runs so far, he didn’t bother the England bowlers yet, but has it in him to destroy the oppositions on his day.
Given the dimensions of the ground, Yuvraj might come into play, and who knows he could well be an evening away from bashing record books.
5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
The wicket-keeper batsman will most likely be India’s number five in the final game of the series. Reputed as one of the most destructive finishers of the game, Dhoni hasn’t lived up to the expectations lately. In both matches, he has scored 41 runs in total at a strike rate of 120.
Dhoni, however, has been crucial while guiding newly appointed Virat Kohli on the field. Behind the stumps, he is still very effective and to be precise, quite quick in responding.
6. Manish Pandey
A promising batsman, Manish Pandey would be fearing his spot to be in danger after the Nagpur fallout, but is likely to grab another chance on his home ground. Well, to add to Pandey’s favour, he played a valiant knock on this very ground while chasing in the final of IPL 2014, where he scored an unbeaten 94 to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lift the trophy for the second time then.
During the first two T20Is against England, he has scored just 33 runs but has been instrumental on the field too. So going by the past experience, Virat would allot him the sixth spot in batting.
7. Hardik Pandya
All-rounder Hardik Pandya will be an important cog in the wheel of Indian team heading into the last match. The Baroda born hasn’t been that effective with both bat and ball yet, but holds an extra edge over his competitors to turn the tables around on his terms. Having an ability to bowl with the new as well as with the old ball, Pandya could be flexibly used by the captain, considering the situations.
Hardik has shown what he is capable of, especially while batting in the final ODI in Kolkata, where he scored a quickfire 55 in tense situation and helped India come close to the winning line.
8. Amit Mishra
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra was impressive in his first outing in the series in Nagpur by bowling a spell of one for 25 in his four overs. He could have bagged one more wicket, had he not over stepped when he bowled Ben Stokes off his first ball. The wrist turner did pound some pressure on the visitors by bowling his stock balls and is expected to leave the imprint of the same on Wednesday. However, he has been more efficient with his wrong ones or googly.
9. Jasprit Bumrah
The man who stole the show in Nagpur, Jasprit Bumrah would be a thorn in the flesh of visitors in Bengaluru. The seamer defended eight runs off the last over at the VCA stadium and bowled a rather intelligent spell to come on top of English batsmen. He was smart in his approach by bowling short of back length deliveries, which eventually troubled the batters to go for runs.
At Chinnaswamy stadium, he would be fixing his yorkers right to repeat his heroics on a relatively smaller ground.
10. Yuzvendra Chahal
The rookie leg-spinner has been all but a wicket-taker for India in the series so far. Compared to Mishra, Chahal is more quick through the air which gives a batsman a lesser chance to smash him for runs. In the first match, he was quick in picking up two wickets but failed to gather any in the second game.
Playing for RCB in the IPL, Chahal would be aware about bowling on this ground and would be prepared with his tactics to dominate batsmen.
11. Ashish Nehra
Veteran seam bowler Ashish Nehra would be India’s last pick in the playing XI. With three wickets in two matches, he leads wicket-takers chart for India in the series. Nehra, who was crucial in plucking up the openers on Sunday in Nagpur, bagged Stokes’ wicket in the end to get India back into the game. With his spell of three for 28, he stood out as the star performer and would like to bring his A game into the decider too.