3rd T20I: India elect to field against England; Shami returns
What's the story
India and England are set to square off in the 3rd T20I at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. The hosts lead the five-match series 2-0 after winning in Kolkata and Chennai. It will be interesting to see if the Englishmen post a comeback and save the series. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has elected to field first, with Mohammed Shami returning to the XI.
Arshdeep
Shami replaces Arshdeep in the Playing XI
Shami returns to India's Playing XI, having missed the first two T20Is. The Indian pacer, who was out with injury, is set to play his first international after 14 months, replacing Arshdeep Singh in India's XI. India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar (captain), Dhruv Jurel, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Information
England retain their Playing XI
England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (captain), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.
Details
Venue details, pitch report, and conditions
The Niranjan Shah Stadium has hosted five T20Is so far. The pitch here is known to be batter-friendly, providing reasonable pace and bounce. The average first-innings score in T20Is in Rajkot is 189. Chasing here can get tough as the second innings's conditions might vary. There are no chances of rain throughout the game, with the temperature hovering around the 20 degree mark.
Record
Here's the head-to-head record
Before the ongoing series, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side crushed England, in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup semi-final. However, England had earlier defeated India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final by 10 wickets. Overall, India have a slender lead over England in T20I encounters (15-11). On Indian soil, the hosts have eight wins and five defeats against the Brits.