India are hoping for a turnaround against England in the 2nd T20I on Sunday after a massive loss in the first game of the five-match series.

England’s bowling attack, the ruthless batting at the top and India‘s top-order slump all came into focus in the first game of the series. More aware of their opponents and armed with a decent knowledge of the pitch now, India and England head into the 2nd T20I at the same venue. While the two stand close in the ICC T20I team rankings, the first T20I saw the chasm England have created with the rest in white-ball cricket, and it’s a gap India will want to bridge quickly.

Pitch conditions

The black soil surface ensured good carry for the pace bowlers with a bit of moisture aiding the zip too. However, a few balls held up in the surface and there was barely any dew in the second half of the game. We could see higher scores in the second game with batsmen gauging conditions better.

Weather forecast

The humidity is less than 20 per cent and there’s zero precipitation probability in the weather report for Sunday in Ahmedabad according to the forecasts. Temperatures could hover around 32 degree Celsius during the nights.

India v England 2nd T20I: Team news

India

India’s intent in the first T20I was a notch above their usual restrained self. If they do not go back on this approach as a result of their loss, this could be an engaging game with the match-ups coming into play. India chose to rest Rohit Sharma for the first two games, so Dhawan is likely to get one more game at the top.

Shreyas Iyer single-handedly guided India to a respectable total and with that likely pushed Suryakumar Yadav’s debut a bit further down the line. The bowling front might see the only change after watching the success of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Navdeep Saini offers an extra yard of pace and could replace Shardul Thakur, whose added value with the bat is lessened if he is carded to come in at No.10.

England

England had a complete game in the first T20I with their tactics coming off spectacularly well. While they might struggle to replicate that throughout the series, England are likely to try and push their chances. One change that could be in the offing, especially after a good glance at the wicket in Ahmedabad would be to replace Sam Curran with Moeen Ali. The latter’s absence could have been down, in part, to India’s abundance of right-handed options, but if Dhawan is to open, Moeen could provide a good match-up option.

The bowling is unlikely to change otherwise, although with the T20 World Cup in mind we could see Reece Topley getting a game when Archer or Wood is rested.

India v England predicted XI

India: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini.

England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood.

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