England vs India, 3rd T20I: Match Predictions

The Men in Blue received a jolt in the previous match after losing the clash. They didn’t quite bat well and scored a below par 148 on the board. The Men in Blue started off well with the ball but Alex Hales played an exceptional knock which helped England keep the series alive. The Men in Blue is in top form and will to bounce back strongly. KL Rahul looked in great touch during the opening clash and scored a magnificent century. However, he played a bad shot in the bast match.

He carried on from where he left in the IPL and in the lone match against Ireland. Rahul thrashed the English bowlers all around the park and looked in total command of proceedings. His unbeaten knock of 101 of 54 deliveries was studded with 10 fours and 5 hits over the fence. The English bowlers were pretty ordinary and couldn’t quite stall the Indian run flow.

England keep series alive

However, the home team bounced back quite strongly in the 2^nd T20I by winning the clash by 5 wickets and with a couple of deliveries to spare. The victory was largely built around some exceptional bowling performance by Liam Plunkett and David Willey. With the bat in hand, it was Alex Hales who played a stunning knock of 58 runs which eventually sealed the match for the home team.

They batted Kuldeep with caution and in his final over, Jonny Bairstow smashed him for a couple of sixes which proved to be a killer punch for the hosts. The two sixes helped England reduce the target to 23 of the final 3 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a sensational 18^th over conceding just 3 runs. However, Alex Hales struck an important boundary off the bowling of Umesh Yadav. Hales eventually smashed a six of the first delivery of the final over and added a four to eventually finish the match.

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Batting against the wrist spinners will be crucial for England as the series progresses. The way they applied themselves and played to their strengths against Kuldeep showed that they are ready to take the fight to their opposition. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled well but the English batters played him out and conceded just a wicket to him.

The Men in Blue should be confident of winning the series especially after putting up a strong show in the opening encounter. Rahul should try to build his innings rather than going for extravagant shots from the outset. They will surely look to play to their potentials and try to clinch the series today.

TEAM COMBINATIONS

England

The home team won’t change with their winning combination. Jake Ball will continue to be part of the playing XI for the decider.

Predicted XI: Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root/Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Jake Ball

India

The visitors are unlikely to change with their combination despite the defeat in the previous game. Some of the experiments which they have been doing should continue.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav

Match Predictions

Despite India’s loss in the previous match, they will start the match slightly ahead. England has several stars in their line-up but the current Indian team is loaded with superstars. The absence of Bumrah has affected them a bit. But the form of Umesh Yadav has kept them in good stead. Kuldeep’s performance will be pretty vital. Hence I will go with India to clinch the series 2-1.

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