FANTASY
Follow UsEngland made the best possible start to the T20 series just like they did in the Test series. However, a demoralizing defeat brought the best out of India in the Test series. Can they repeat the same in the shortest format or will England pounce on the opportunity to land another blow to India is to be seen.
The competition between the two teams was even-steven. With a win in the first T20I, England have gone ahead. In 15 matches, England has eight wins and India has seven. In the last five, India have won three.
Head to Head
Overall: Matches – 15 | IND – 7 wins | ENG – 8 wins
Last five matches: IND – 3 wins | ENG – 2 win
SUGGESTED TEAM
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing you own team from cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms we have come up with six different teams the could fetch crucial points.
TEAMS COMBINATION
Though the Indian top order collapsed in the first T20I, they are one of the most trusted sets of batting units. This is one of the reasons why we have persisted with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul as our Indian batters. However, the young talent of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer was a positive. As for England, their openers came all guns blazing and the middle order didn’t have to lift their fingers.
The reason behind a comfortable win for England was their bowling attack. Starting off with spin, they introduced their gun bowlers later on. The raw pace and heat were too hot to handle for the Indian batsmen. We have gone with a combination of seven batsmen including the wicket-keeper, one all-rounder and three bowlers.
There could be few interesting match-ups
Chris Jordan didn’t get to have a shot at Virat Kohli in the first T20I. Uncharacteristically, Kohli has struggled against the likes of Jordan. In seven innings face-off, Jordan has dismissed Kohli twice at an average of 14.5 and has given away runs at a strike rate of 82.9.
In a tussle between the two seaming all-rounders, Hardik Pandya has gained a huge advantage over Ben Stokes in T20s. Hardik has bowled to Stokes in three innings in T20s and has a 100% record. Stokes has scored at an average of 2.7 and has a strike rate of 88.9 against the likes of Hardik.
CAPTAIN SUGGESTION
KL Rahul: A single failure shouldn’t affect the confidence of a batsman like Rahul. This is one of the reasons why we have persisted with Rahul as our captain. Since the start of 2018, Rahul has been one of those batsmen who has consistently been performing in both cricketing terms as well as fantasy. Since the aforementioned time, Rahul has scored over 3000 runs in T20s at a staggering average of 48.8 with a mind-blowing strike of 142.4. He has 32 scores of over 50 (29 50s & 3 – 100s) in 81 innings. These numbers are evident enough to say why he is one of the most consistent batsmen and our choice of captain.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts, KL Rahul could score 16-39 runs in the second T20I against England.
X-FACTORS
Jos Buttler: Considered to be one of the most attacking batsmen, Jos Buttler has stupendous numbers when he has played in India. In 11 international T20 innings in India, Buttler has scored 282 runs at an average of 42.3 and a whopping strike rate of 153.2. Since 2018 in T20s, Buttler has scored at a strike-rate of 153.1 during the Powerplay. The reason behind his high strike rate is the frequency of boundaries he has scored. Buttler has clubbed a boundary 3.7 balls in the first six overs. Undeniably one of our X-factors considering the average and strike rate.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts, Jos Buttler could score 16-39 runs in the second T20I against India.
Jofra Archer: The steamy spell of bowling at the start of the innings in the first T20I by Jofra Archer set it up for England. The tall lanky bowler has been exceptional during the Powerplay since IPL 2020. Since the 2020 IPL, Jofra Archer has had 13 wickets in the first six overs at an economy of 5.4. The 13 wickets taken by him are the fourth-best in this time frame. This is certainly an X-factor that can give any team head starts.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts Jofra Archer could take 1-2 wickets in the second T20I against India.
