In what is already being termed as a potential blockbuster, India begin their tour of England with the first of the three T20s, at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Fresh from two comprehensive victories over Ireland, Virat Kohli’s men turn their attention to the English summer with the limited-overs clashes to start off.
Plenty will be at stake when the two sides meet, with the bragging rights of being the best limited-overs team being one of them.
Here, we look at the three key battles in the T20 series.
BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR V JOS BUTTLER
With Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the T20 series after fracturing his thumb, the onus of leading India’s new ball attack rests on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s shoulders. The pacer has been a steady performer in all formats and it is him Kohli will look to to provide early breakthroughs.
It will not be an easy task though, with Jos Buttler in the form of his life at the moment. The wicketkeeper batsman’s record-equaling five consecutive half-centuries in the IPL was the catalyst for some exemplary performances with the bat for England in their recent clashes against Pakistan and Australia.
Buttler was recently promoted to open the innings for England in the format during the one-off T20 against the Aussies and he showed his prowess with a 22-ball fifty which is the fastest by an Englishman in the format.
Bhuvneshwar and Buttler will battle with the new ball.
KULDEEP YADAV V JASON ROY
The firepower in England’s top-order is probably second to none with Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy all in terrific touch at the moment. Make no mistake though, that they will be thoroughly tested by wrist-spin in the series.
Spin has been England’s Achilles heel for many years now and the fact that Australian leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson picked up two wickets in the sole T20 clash on debut will have Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal licking their lips in anticipation.
Both Indian spinners were in devastating form against Ireland where they picked up a combined 13 wickets between them in the two matches. Kuldeep, in particular, will be a big threat against England given the fact that it will be the first time he will be squaring up against them in an international match.
His battle with Roy, who has been known to struggle against spin, will be one to watch out for on Tuesday.
Kuldeep Yadav will be India’s trump card against England.
VIRAT KOHLI V ADIL RASHID
While India will look to impose their spinners on the English batsmen, they will also look to negate the threat posed by the hosts’ own slower bowlers. In their 6-0 whitewash across both formats against Australia, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali’s spin was a crucial weapon for the hosts.
The Aussies struggled against the duo in the six clashes but India’s batsmen will be a different proposition. Known to be excellent players of spin, the Indians, especially the skipper, will look to get on top of England’s spinners from the start.
Kohli, who is probably India’s best player of spin, will fancy himself against Rashid and Moeen. How this battle pans out will be crucial the gap between the teams is marginal.
How Kohli handles Rashid will be critical.
