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England in India 2024/25, IND vs ENG T20I first match preview


Big picture: teams in transition

Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum have a lot in common. Both were stellar openers, they were captain and coach of Kolkata Knight Riders at different times, both are known for their ‘aggressive’ mentality when it comes to approaching the game from the bench and now, both are finding themselves. trying to guide teams in transition.

India’s has been easier, at least in this format, with three superstars ending their careers with T20 World Cup medals around their necks, and others fitting in seamlessly over the course of wins against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa. . England’s has been trickier, with one of the most exciting white-ball teams in world cricket struggling in ICC tournaments since their T20 World Cup victory in 2022.

This has meant McCullum enters the India T20I series as England white-ball coach for the first time, with ambitions to maximize the team’s untapped potential. And for Gambhir, the aim is to show that the T20I team is not affected by the poor test results that have shaken the establishment.

It is against this backdrop that India and England face off in a five-match series that could test the limits of the shortest format. And as the lines between T20Is and ODIs continue to blur, there will be opportunities for some T20I specialists to stake a claim for future ODI positions, especially after the Champions Trophy concludes.

Five potentially mouth-watering T20 batting surfaces await either side over the next fortnight, and the first salvo in Kolkata will give a taste of what to expect.

forms guide

India WWLWW (Last five T20Is completed, most recent first)
England LWWWW

In the spotlight: Bethell and Shami

Very few young people today have the aura of Jacob Bethel. He made a spectacular international debut in all three formats in late 2024. He had a stint with Melbourne Renegades in the BBL and is on an IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru without playing a single game in India. The left-handed batsman has earned a reputation for hitting spinners for fun, is a skilled left-arm spinner and is considered an electric fielder in the ring and on the boundary. Could there be a more perfect T20 cricketer in this era? Ranked No. 6 during the first T20I against India, Bethell’s stock has never been higher. England see him as one of their future superstars. Now all he has to do is meet India’s challenge.

On the other hand, Mohamed ShamiAt 34, he is returning to the international team after ankle surgery and a knee problem. He has not played international cricket since India’s defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, and despite India trying out other fast bowlers in the interim, there is a feeling that Shami remains India’s second-best seamer behind by Jasprit Bumrah. India have gambled by selecting him for next month’s Champions Trophy, and the focus in the T20Is and ODIs against England will be on how his body behaves. It is also the perfect way for him to return, to his national cricket ground.

Team News: Archer and Wood combine, but what about Bishnoi?

England captain Jos Buttler said he was especially pleased to have all the first-choice T20I players available for this series. They have already named their XI, with Phil Salt taking the gloves and Ben Duckett starting alongside him. Buttler himself will be at No.3, and England will also have the blistering pace and fit bodies of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to attack India. While Wood is the only one in the XI without a century in senior cricket, even he can hit big shots, and that makes England one of the most dangerous batting teams at the moment.

England: 1 Phil Salt (week), 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jos Buttler (captain), 4 Harry Brook, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood

India has two important decisions to make: how many spinners to play and how deep their batting should look. Arshdeep Singh, Shami and Hardik Pandya should be the seamers while Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel could be the two spin options. That probably leaves India deciding between bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar and an absolute wrist spinner like Ravi Bishnoi. England have a lot of right-handers and struggle against finger-spinners, two factors that could decide India’s eventual choice.

India (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (captain), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Nitish Kumar Reddy/Washington Sundar/Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.

Field and conditions: Dew and plenty of water.

Kolkata will offer a tough platform with real bounce. The limits are small and the ball in January will get wet very quickly. That means Eden Gardens should be a batting paradise. Suryakumar and Buttler felt that the conditions would be the same regardless of the outcome of the draw, so expect a fight with dew all around.

Stats and trivia: Arshdeep gets close to Chahal

  • Among full members, England has the second-worst batting average against fingers since the start of 2024: 26.8. Against top-tier teams like Australia, South Africa and India, he drops to 13.88 with a run rate of just 6.74.
  • With 95 wickets in 60 T20Is, Arshdeep is just one wicket behind Yuzvendra Chahal, who leads the Indian pack in the format. If Arshdeep reaches the 100-wicket milestone in this five-match series, he will become the fastest bowler to get there in T20Is. Currently, Haris Rauf is the fastest T20I bowler to reach the 100-wicket mark, having done so in 71 games. Furthermore, since Arshdeep’s T20I debut, no bowler has taken more wickets in the powerplay (40) or in the last five overs (46).
  • India has not lost a bilateral T20I series at home in the last six years. Their last loss was against Australia in February 2019. In the 16 series since then, India has won 14 and drawn two.
  • Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, India have scored 9.2 runs per over in the powerplay, a staggering 10.3 in overs 7-15 and 10.9 in the last five overs. In this period, no team has had a better run rate between overs 7-15 or a better ball to boundary ratio (4.7).
  • Archer has the wood over Suryakumar and Hardik, with both batsmen hitting just 116 against him at an average of 14.5 and 19 runs respectively.

Quotes

“It’s a really exciting tour coming to India with what I would say is a full line-up for us. Sometimes there is so much cricket that certain players have to be rested or checked. But that’s certainly not the case for us at all. in this series.”
Jose Butler believes England has all bases covered

“Eden Gardens is a special feeling, because this is where I played when I started playing regularly.”
Suryakumar Yadavwho first became an IPL regular for Kolkata Knight Riders, wants to make the most of the occasion on Wednesday.

Sreshth Shah is Deputy Editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx



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