India and England gear up in series decider

Bengaluru: With the three-match T20I series squared at 1-1, the final game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Wednesday.

An exciting contest with India aiming to pocket another series win while England will be hoping to end their lacklustre tour on a high.

After a poor batting display in both the previous games, all eyes will be on local boys Lokesh Rahul, and Virat Kohli to give a strong start to the hosts.

Not only the opening pair, the onus of piling up a good score will also lie on the famed middle order comprising Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, with youngster Manish Pandey providing the momentum lower down.

So far, India's middle order has failed to click as a unit in both the games, with England seizing the advantage to restrict the hosts to below par scores.

But with the game being the last limited overs outing before the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in June, Kohli may also want to test the bench by including the hard-hitting Rishabh Pant and Mandeep Singh in the third game.

Not only Bumrah, but the old warhorse Ashish Nehra (3/28) also gave the hosts a dream start in the Nagpur tie.

On the other hand, the visitors have shown their intent by clinching the first T20I and would eye another victory to end their dismal tour on a winning note.

England's batting will once again revolve around the likes of Joe Root, skipper Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and the opening duo of Jason Roy and Sam Billings.

So far, No.4-ranked England have preferred to chase in both the games and with a long batting line-up, the visitors may once again go with the same strategy.

Having played for the RCB, pacer Chris Jordan will be well-acquainted with the track and will once again be Morgan's go-to option with the likes of Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett and all-rounder Stokes. Moeen Ali has been quite handy with his off-spinners.

Teams from

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Lokesh Rahul, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Mandeep Singh, Manish Pandey, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Parvez Rasool, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya.

England: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey.

Stats and trivia

• English wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler needs 57-run for 1000 runs in T20 Internationals.

Match facts
Wendesday February 1, 2017
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)