England and India are getting ready to meet in the second T20I of a five-match T20I series in Manchester on Saturday. In the first game, persistent rain had disrupted the proceedings, denying a result.
Before the weather intervened, India had shown a great deal of determination with the bat by putting up a challenging total of 189/7 in 20 overs. However, England never had the chance to face Indian bowlers; if they had, then they would have got some confidence.
Nonetheless, this clash will give both teams an opportunity to gain the upper hand. Despite performing well in the first game, India still are under pressure following an unexpected 2-0 series defeat against Ireland. But under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, India will be determined to brush aside the disappointing result and maintain momentum against England. Their batting lineup continues to have impressive firepower. Abhishek Sharma has been in brilliant form, proving great starts repeatedly.
The middle order is also formidable, with Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube. There also remains palpable excitement surrounding the possibility of teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi making his international debut. England, meanwhile, also have one of the most explosive batting units, with Phil Salt and Jos Buttler at the top. Harry Brook, Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell further strengthen England's batting depth. Notably, England have already named their playing XI.
Head-to-head
Matches - 30
ENG won - 12
IND won - 18
England XI: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue
India probable XI: Sanju Samson/Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy