The final T20I game of the three-match series between England and India will take place at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Sunday, July 10.
India kept their imperious record in T20Is over England intact as the Men in Blue swatted aside their hosts by 49 runs at Edgbaston on Saturday night to clinch their 4th consecutive series win over the 'Three Lions'.
Once again, it was India"s performance with both bat and ball in the powerplay that proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Unlike Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who once again put on a clinic of swing bowling, and the ever relentless Jasprit Bumrah (2/10 in 3 overs), the English seamers could not control the flow of runs during the powerplay, let alone take wickets.
Rohit had a new opening partner on Saturday in the form of Rishabh Pant and together, the duo took the English bowling to the cleaners, smashing 49 in 4.4 overs.
The Indians did stutter during the middle-overs thanks to debutant Richard Gleeson, who dismissed Rohit (31 off 20), Virat Kohli (1 off 3) and Pant (26 off 15) to reduce the tourists to 3-61 in the 7th.
Suryakumar Yadav and Dinesh Karthik did not last long either but Ravindra Jadeja once again came to his sides' rescue, scoring an unbeaten 29-ball 46 to take India to 170. Harshal too Patel showcased his batting skills with a stroke filled 6-ball 13.
Then, Kumar (3/15 in 3) and Bumrah proceeded to launch a swing and seam-bowling assault on the English batters to effectively seal the game in the powerplay itself.
India's catching was much better on the night as opposed to the previous one in Southampton but it still remains a work in progress.
As for England, apart from Gleeson's debut and Jordan's improved death bowling, there aren't many positives for the hosts to take from this game as far as their bowling is concerned.
The gap between the bowling departments of both sides has proved to be the difference so far and the hosts must bridge that on Sunday if they want to avert a 0-3 whitewash.
Match Details:
Match: England vs India, 3rd T20I
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Date & Time: July 10 at 07:00 PM IST
Live Streaming: Sony Liv App
Pitch Report:
The surface at Trent Bridge is normally a batting paradise and the numbers in the ongoing Blast testify that.
In the 7 games played at the venue this season, the average 1st innings score is 192, with Birmingham Bears amazing as many as 261/2 against the hosts.
Also, teams' batting first have won on each of the four instances out of 6. Bat first, bat big!
Head-To-Head:
Matches Played: 21
England Won: 9
India Won: 12
No Result: 0
Playing XI:
England: Jos Buttler (C & WK), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Matt Parkinson, Richard Gleeson
India: Rohit Sharma ©, Rishabh Pant (WK), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav/Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel/Umran Malik/Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuvzendra Chahal/Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah
CREX XI Suggestion:
Wicket-keeper: Jos Buttler, Rishabh Pant
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Chris Jordan
Captain: Rishabh Pant
Vice-captain: Jos Buttler