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25-Jan-2017 11:16:00 GMT
India v England 1st T20I, Kanpur

England look forward to T20I series

Kanpur: Having finally won a game in India by beating the home side in the third ODI, England are feeling a lot more confident going into the three-match T20 International series that begins on Thursday.

The confluence of one of India's largest cantonments and the local community on the bank of the river Ganga makes Kanpur a vibrant and chaotic city.

England beat India by five runs at the Eden Gardens in the third and final ODI for their first win on the tour.

Looking ahead at the Champions Trophy in June in England, Morgan was asked about the relevance of the T20 series.

A festive atmosphere is expected as Virat Kohli prepares to make his debut as India's T20I captain. That the match will start at 4.30 pm to negate the effect of dew has not proved to be a dampener because Thursday is India's Republic Day.

India played a total of 13 Twenty20 Internationals as preparation for the ICC World T20 2016 at home, where it qualified for the semi-final.

That, however, is the last thing on the minds of the players. Ashish Nehra would be eager to prove his fitness in his first international after knee surgery.

Similarly, this series is an opportunity for Suresh Raina to resurrect his career as much as it is a chance for Yuvraj Singh to get more game time before travelling to England.

Lokesh Rahul would want to settle the opening debate in limited-overs cricket once for all, even as Mandeep Singh and Rishabh Pant eye a window at the top of the order.

For bowlers, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja rested, the three matches are also a good chance for Amit Mishra, Parveez Rasool and Yuzvendra Chahal to tick a few key boxes in the spin department.

India's T20I squad looks slightly different from the one that won the ODI series, but England has a similar unit. Eoin Morgan felt that his team could use this opportunity to get a few things rolling its way before the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

Morgan also confirmed that Joe Root, who was rested for the third ODI because of a niggle, was available for selection.

The last time Root batted in the shortest format in India was in the ICC World T20 2016, where he took England to the final with 249 runs in six matches at a strike-rate of 146.47.

England dominated the entire tournament till the last over from Ben Stokes to Carlos Brathwaite in the final at Eden Gardens.

Stokes laid the Eden demons to rest in the final ODI, but England would like nothing more than a series win.

Teams from:

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

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

Stats and trivia
Yuvraj Singh has won two Man-of-the-Match awards against England in T20Is

Match facts
Thursday, January 26, 2017 (d/n)
Start time 1630 local (1100 GMT)


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