India like Edgbaston. They’ve won five of the eight ODIs they’ve played there, including their last three on the trot, and they enjoy feeling like the home team at a ground where they’ve always enjoyed massive support. Their biggest win in the ODI series came at this venue, and there probably isn’t a better place for them to end a long, draining England tour.
A win will do nicely for India, but you can’t say they’ll be shattered if they lose the one-off Twenty20. The format is such, and with the next World T20 two years away, there isn’t too much riding on the result of this game. India’s squad contains five players who are yet to make their T20 debut – Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ambati Rayudu, Sanju Samson and Karn Sharma – but none of them was brought along as a specialist for the format.
England, though, have a different captain for T20, and a squad full of players who didn’t feature in the ODIs. With their 50-over blueprint under attack from all quarters, T20 games such as this one allow them to try new combinations, ease players back into international cricket, and see if new faces fit.
And so England have a lot more plotlines to track over the 40 overs of this game. Jason Roy has had a storming season for Surrey, topping their run charts in Division 2 of the County Championship, and topping the overall run charts in the NatWest t20 Blast. How will he deal with India’s attack, and their two Ravis? How will England’s Ravi respond in his first game back after being dropped from the ODI side despite having done fairly okay in that format? Will Eoin Morgan make the selectors wonder if he could take over the ODI captaincy from Alastair Cook?
Form guide
(Completed matches, most recent first)
England LLLWL
India LWWWW
Watch out for
England’s seam attack in the ODIs suffered from an overkill of samey, fast-medium types. Steven Finn, the one component who offered something different, improved his rhythm towards the end of the series, and put in an impressive display at Headingley. England will hope his return to international cricket continues progressing smoothly.
Mohammed Shami made way for Mohit Sharma towards the latter half of the World T20, but he showed improved death-bowling skills during the Headingley ODI, and straight, fast yorkers are just as much of an asset in the slog overs of the shortest format.
Team news
Tim Bresnan has been ruled out after failing to recover from a muscle strain in his right shoulder. England, therefore, have four seamers battling for three slots, with Chris Jordan looking the most vulnerable. With doubts over his fitness cleared, Jason Roy looks all set to make his England debut at the top of the order, while there seems to be no place in the middle order for James Taylor.
England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Steven Finn/Chris Jordan, 11 Harry Gurney
India didn’t train or send anyone out for a press conference on the eve of the game, so their selection remains shrouded in mystery. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson, allrounder Stuart Binny and legspinner Karn Sharma didn’t get a game during the ODI series, but it isn’t clear if India will give any of them an opportunity.
India (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Umesh Yadav/Dhawal Kulkarni
Pitch and weather
India’s spinners enjoyed the conditions during the nine-wicket win in the fourth ODI, and they could do so again. The match will be played on a used pitch, immediately after the Women’s T20 between England and South Africa.
Stats and trivia
India have played the fewest T20 matches, 52, among Test teams apart from Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Pakistan have played the most T20 games, 82, and England have played 73.
Suresh Raina, on 922 international T20 runs, and Virat Kohli, on 906, have a chance of becoming India’s highest run-getter in the format. Yuvraj Singh, who currently holds the record, has 968.
