India vs England – 1st T20 International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is India vs England taking place? Friday, March 12th, 2021 – 13:30 (UK)
Where is India vs England taking place? Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
What is the expected weather for India vs England? 37c with sunshine forecast
What channel is India vs England on? The match will be televised live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404)
Where can I stream India vs England? The match can be streamed live the SkyGo app
LAST MEETING
India beat England by 7 wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
INDIA
- India play their first T20 matches of the year as they start their preparations the World Cup on home soil later in 2021 but they will take heart from some excellent results in this format in 2020 where they lost just once and won all three series played.
- While they have previously relied heavily on Hardik Pandya as their main all-rounder to give flexibility to the line-up they are likely to use Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur who are excellent with the bat to add even more depth which they have previously lacked.
- Skipper Virat Kohli and the selectors have a tough task in choosing just eleven players but the form of the likes of Rishabh Pant in the Tests will give them plenty of confidence as will the competition for places which demands high performance.
ENGLAND
- Despite the drubbing handed out in the Test series, England will approach this T20 series with fresh impetus as the vast majority of the team will be different as Eoin Morgan takes over to lead the top-ranked T20 nation in the World.
- The main question mark coming into this game is whether Jofra Archer has recovered from his elbow issue that saw him miss out in the last couple of Test matches so Mark Wood is on standby if the fast bowler misses out.
- The rest of the side is looking strong with the bat especially formidable although the likes of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow especially find themselves under a bit of pressure after their IPL snub (Roy) and Test failures (Bairstow).
THE PREDICTION
The top two T20 teams in the world meet in a five-match series which promises to be extremely tight and competitive. While England struggled to cope with spin in the Test matches, they will have more confidence in this format although Yuzvendra Chahal and company will still pose plenty of threat. The one thing Eoin Morgan has been capable of is switching the mindset of his team to this format especially with virtually an entirely different team at his disposal so there is unlikely to be any kind of hangover from the Tests. It may however take them some time to adapt and with the Indian boys coming off Test action or domestic action, they should have the edge in this opening game.
