Predicted XI for India for the 2nd T20I against England

After losing the opening T20I in Kanpur comprehensively, India will now need to win in Nagpur in the second T20I against England in order to take the series into a decider at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru next week.

Here’s a possible playing XI that India may play in the game:

1.KL Rahul

The Indian opener has just not got going in coloured clothing against England, having made a combined total fo 24 runs in 3 matches and in the opening T20I at Kanpur made a mere 8 runs, thereby exposing the rest of the batting line-up early once again.

While there is no doubting Rahul’s potential with the bat, it will be important for him to get some runs under his belt in the next two games, considering it will be the last bit of limited-overs cricket he will play before the Champions Trophy in June.

2.Virat Kohli

Be it with his elegant batting or his tattoos, Virat Kohli never ceases to amaze the average Indian fan. On Friday, the newly-appointed full-time skipper of the team decided to open the innings with Rahul and had a good start to the spell, smashing a 26-ball 29 to set the tone of the innings.

However, on Sunday Kohli may well be back to his usual Number 3 slot, if India decided to blood young Rishabh Pant onto the international scene and it will be interesting to see if he gets the platform to build upon like he has in the past, while walking in at 3.

3.Suresh Raina

It would now be fair to say that the selection panel and the team management are looking at Suresh Raina as a one-format player largely and ensuring that they make full use of him in the shortest format of the game.

Hence, it would be a wise call to make him bat at the Number 3 position, where he has had a lot of success for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and also if an early wicket falls, he would get the chance to settle down and get a big score with the bat in hand.

4.Yuvraj Singh

After an excellent ODI series, Yuvraj Singh would have hoped to carry that form into the T20Is, but he could not do so, failing to make it big in Nagpur. Like in the case of Raina, for Yuvraj, the Number 4 position suits him well, since it gives him the chance to build an innings if a couple of early wickets fall before accelerating steadily as the innings progresses.

With Dhoni and an inexperienced lower-order to follow him, the left-hander will have an important role to play, bridging the gap between the top and the middle order and if India are to square the series 1-1 on Sunday, then his say will be vital.

5.MS Dhoni

For a long time in his T20I career, MS Dhoni has come in at the Number 6 position. Relieved of captaincy now, it is time the 35-year-old comes one place higher up the order and shepherds the middle and lower order.

What Dhoni will hope is he enters the crease at a stage when India have built a foundation for him to launch. For a player to come in at 5 and build an innings and then launch at the end could be tough and he will hope the Men in Blue are already in a stable enough position when he comes so that he can start to accelerate soon enough.

6.Rishabh Pant

Manish Pandey did not make any substantial contribution in the Kanpur T20I and India well may try another young turk in his place in the form of Rishabh Pant, who has been picked in the squad for this series.

Pant was picked on the back of a superb Ranji Trophy season, where he made 972 runs that included a triple ton and he could well be the lusty hitter that India would need at Number 6 to provide the final impetus to the innings.

7.Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has two more opportunities to prove that he is the ideal candidate for India’s quest for a seam-bowling all-rounder when they go to England in defense of their Champions Trophy.

He did not take the new ball in the opening T20I and was used in the middle overs, when the outcome of the game was all but decided and he will hope that in Nagpur, he can put in a better performance and help India make it 1-1 in the series.

8.Amit Mishra

The second change in India’s line-up for the Nagpur T20I will be replacing Parvez Rasool with Amit Mishra, who was brought in as the other replacement(Rasool being the second) for R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Mishra is a slightly different spinner to Yuzverndra Chahal, in the case, he bowls from a bit more wider of the crease then Chahal and also uses the googly a lot more. Mishra will also increase the experience quotient in the bowling attack and can be used as a wicket-taking option by Kohli in the middle overs.

9.Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The third and final change in the side for the Nagpur game. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was one of the main reasons for India to win the tightly fought Cuttack ODI as he proved to be vital at the death overs.

What will be heartening for Kohli is the fact that Bhuvi has now begun to swing the ball like he did earlier with an added amount of pace and that would now make him a useful player to have both at the start of the innings as well.

If given a chance, Bhuvi will look to make the most of the opportunity and also cement his place in the Champions Trophy squad in June.

10.Yuzvendra Chahal

India’s most impressive bowler in the Kanpur T20I. Chahal ensured that the England opening pair did not close the game on their own, removing both Jason Roy and Sam Billings in the same over to bring India back into the contest.

Playing his first game for India since June last year, Chahal did not try anything fancy and maintained a good pace in his deliveries to pick up two wickets.

11.Jasprit Bumrah

India’s death over specialist. Bumrah will once be the player to whom Kohli will turn to restrict the run flow in the final overs. However, in recent times, Bumrah has shown a notorious tendency to bowl no-balls at a regular basis and he will need to work on that aspect of his game soon and fix it.