In Men’s Cricket, the second T20 International between India and England will be played in Manchester today. The match will begin at 7 this evening Indian Time. The opening game of the five-match series was abandoned due to rain at Chester-le-Street.
The third match will be played in Nottingham on the 7th of July. Bristol and Southampton will host the final two matches of the T20I series, which concludes on the 11th of July. Following this, India will take on England in a three-match ODI series.
One game into the five-match series, we’re no closer to knowing how India and England stack up in these conditions.
The opening fixture at Chester-le-Street saw India post 189 before persistent rain washed out the contest. It also robbed us of the night’s most intriguing subplot: whether India’s decision to field three spinners on a grassy surface in overcast conditions was inspired or misguided.
“While we were batting, what I was slightly concerned and nervous about was the fact with the rain, you know, if the ball is going to skid on,” Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, said before the second T20I. “But I reckon if conditions stayed dry, the way we set up our bowling plans and attack in terms of the way we wanted to go about it, it would have suited the venue quite well.”
Some things we already know, though, were merely reinforced. Abhishek Sharma remains one of the cleanest six-hitters in world cricket, clearing the ropes four times during his 24-ball 59. Shreyas Iyer continues to be one of India’s best players of spin, using both the front and back foot expertly against Liam Dawson, Will Jacks and Adil Rashid en route to a 47-ball 68, his maiden T20I fifty as India’s captain. And Shivam Dube once again underlined his finishing credentials, smashing an unbeaten 42 off just 21 deliveries to propel India to a formidable total.
Squads:
India Squad: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Suryansh Shedge, Prince Yadav, Washington Sundar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prasidh Krishna
England Squad: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Jordan Cox, James Coles, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker
