Wankhede T20I: England elect to field against India; Shami returns
What's the story
The 5th T20I between India and England is set to take place at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. This match is particularly special for Suryakumar Yadav, who will be leading the Indian team at his home ground for the first time. While India have an unassailable 3-1 lead, England will play for pride. England captain Jos Buttler has won the toss and elected to field.
Playing XIs
A look at Playing XIs
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, and Varun Chakravarthy. England (Playing XI): Philip Salt (wicket-keeper), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (captain), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.
Changes
Shami returns for India; England add Wood
Senior pacer Mohammed Shami returns to the Indian XI after missing the Pune T20I. Arshdeep Singh has made way for the former. Notably, Arshdeep will have to wait for his 100th wicket in the format. He currently has 99 T20I wickets. On the other hand, England have brought back Mark Wood to their XI. He is expected to garner good pace and bounce.
Pitch report
Wankhede's pitch favors chasing teams
The Wankhede Stadium pitch is known to favor teams that chase. In night T20 matches in the last four years, the team batting second has won 23 out of 38 games. As per ESPNcricinfo, the average run rate in the second inning (9.0) is slightly higher than that in the first (8.7). Notably, five of the last 10 games have witnessed scores over 200.
Information
Ideal weather conditions; dew could play a role
The weather conditions for the match are expected to be ideal with no rain interruptions anticipated. The temperature is likely to hover around 26-27 degrees Celsius during the game. However, dew could play a significant role in the second innings.
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 lead over England in T20I encounters (16-12). On Indian soil, the hosts have nine wins and six defeats against the Brits.