Rajkot, Jan 28 (UNI) India have won the toss and opted to field in the third T20I crucial match of the series against England here on Tuesday.
In a major development, Mohammed Shami marks his return to international cricket after a 14-month hiatus, replacing Arshdeep Singh, who has been given rest for this encounter.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav expressed confidence in the conditions, saying, "The pitch looks nice and hard, and we don't expect much change later in the game. Rajkot has always provided a good track, and we anticipate a competitive contest."
He also reflected on India's recent victory, noting, "Tilak (Varma) bailed us out in the last match, and we're looking at this as a 3-game series. The boys are charged up and ready for the challenge."
England’s captain Jos Buttler was equally optimistic about the pitch, remarking, "It’s a really good surface, and we’re looking forward to batting. We would have chased as well. The team had a solid practice session yesterday, and we’re excited for the match. It was a hard-fought contest in the last game, and we pushed India all the way. We know they’re a strong team, so we’ll need to put up a good total to defend."
Buttler also confirmed that England have made no changes to their squad, with Jamie Smith taking over wicketkeeping duties in place of the injured Phil Salt, who is nursing a stiff calf.
England will look to set a challenging target, knowing the depth of India’s batting and the added potency Shami brings to their bowling attack.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Dhruv Jurel, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy
England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith(w), Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
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