We have opted for a fantasy cricket team based on the recent performances, overall impact, and credit points.
Pitch Report
Only five T20Is have been played at the Edgbaston in Birmingham and all those games have been won by the teams defending. The last two games at the venue have been high scoring and 9 out of 27 wickets have fallen to the spinners.
Teams
Probable XI for England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley, Matthew Parkinson
Probable XI for India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan/Virat Kohli, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Power Players
Jos Buttler might have been dismissed for a duck at Southampton, but he still has 417 runs to his credit, including the highest score of 101* in the last 10 T20Is. It took a peach of a delivery from Bhuvi to dismiss him.
By picking 4 wickets with the ball and scoring 51 runs with the bat, Hardik Pandya single-handedly won the opening game for India. Given his recent form, he is in a pole position to generate a bunch of fantasy points.
Although England lost, Moeen Ali stood tall through his all-round performance. In addition to picking 2 wickets, he scored a brisk 36 off 20.
Smart Picks
Rohit Sharma is returning to international cricket after a while. That said, he looked in decent touch before being dismissed for 24. It’s a matter of time before we start to see the best of him.
Despite England conceding close to 200, Chris Jordan remained economical with figures of 4-0-23-2. He is also capable of adding fantasy points through his brilliance in the field.
Every time India has been in need of wickets lately, Yuzvendra Chahal has responded. He has bagged 10 scalps in his last five T20Is.
Liam Livingstone’s recent numbers in T20Is (0, 6, 16, 11, and 17) don’t make great reading. However, he has compensated by taking 6 wickets in the same period.
With Jason Roy, it is either all or nothing. He might have scored only one half-century in his last 9 innings, but we know what he is capable of, especially in the powerplay.
Deepak Hooda has already stamped his authority in the T20Is by scoring 205 runs in only 4 innings till now. Regardless of the match situation, he has intentionally remained aggressive.
In his 19-ball 39 cameo, Suryakumar Yadav once again showed us his wide range of shots. There are few batters in the world who can match him for his inventive approach.
Match Preview
India have already taken the lead post their thumping win at Southampton. Moreover, the visitors will also be boosted by the return of several marquee players. On the other hand, England will need to come up with a better batting performance to push the series into a decider.
Time: 9 July, 7.00 PM IST