India Vs England, 1st T20I Blitzpools Prediction, Fantasy XI Tips & Pitch Report

After clinching the Test series 3-1 against England, Team India would like to continue their winning momentum in the five-match T20I series starting from 12th March. Host India will take on England in the first T20I of the five-match series on Friday at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. 

Match Details: India vs England, 1st T20I

• Date – 12th March 2021
• Time – 7:00 PM IST
• Venue – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad 

India vs England, 1st T20I Match Preview

The Indian team has strengthened their middle order with the addition of attacking batsmen Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav. Given his form currently, Pant is very likely to play as a wicket-keeper batsman while KL Rahul will play as a pure batsman. Hardik Pandya will be given the finisher's role. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back in the T20 squad but will face a tough competition to get a place in the playing XI. He along with Shardul Thakur look like the likely starters. There are reports regarding the fitness of left-arm pacer T Natarajan. If he is not fit, Deepak Chahar will be the third seamer for the first T20I. 

Jos Buttler will join the T20 squad fresh after a two-week rest from cricket. He along with his opening partner Jason Roy and Dawid Malan coming in at number three makes a dangerous top-order. Eoin Morgan will be the key player for England who can play both anchor as well as the finisher's role. 

With Jofra Archer unlikely to play at least in the first T20I, Chris Jordan will be leading the pace attack. England is likely to play three all-rounders - Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, and Moeen Ali. Adil Rashid will be the lone specialist spinner. 

Both India and England have a tremendous head-to-head record against each other. The five-match T20I series will likely go down to the wire. 

India vs England, 1st T20I Head to Head

• Total – 14
• India – 7
• England – 7

India vs England, 1st T20I Team News

India - Varun Chakravarthy has failed his fitness test and is unlikely to feature in the T20 series. There are doubts about the fitness of T Natarajan and Rahul Tewatia as well. 

England - Jofra Archer has an elbow issue, it will be interesting to see if he gets fully fit before the start of the play. 

 

India vs England, 1st T20I Probable Playing XI

India - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer/Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan/Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal

England - Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid 

India vs England, 1st T20I Blitzpools Fantasy XI

Wicket-keepers - J Buttler, R Pant

Batsmen - V Kohli, E Morgan, R Sharma, H Pandya, L Rahul(C)

All-rounders - B Stokes(VC)

Bowlers - D Chahar, Y Chahal, Chris Jordan

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