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Manchester, Aug 31: The humiliation at the hands of England in the test series is a thing of the past now, and it would pay rich dividends for India if they go into the limited overs leg of the tour with the same thought. England host India in a one off T20 before the ODIs kick in. The T20 could well turn out to be what sets the tone for the ODI series and both teams will be eager to win.
Different stories during practice
Many would have expected England to steamroll the Irish and for India to be embarrassed again when the teams played their practice games ahead of the T20. It however turned out to be a completely different story as England only managed to escape thanks to good work by their bowlers while India registered 3 wins out of 3 while looking like a entirely different unit.
India registered wins against Sussex, Kent and Liecestershire to give their fans some hope of their team salvaging some lost pride in the T20 and the ODIs.
Change in team, Change in fortunes?
The limited overs leg and injuries have resulted a change in both the teams. India will be without Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma while England will be without regulars Test regulars Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson, Jonathan Trott, etc.
For India, all eyes will be on Rahul Dravid, who is most likely to replace the injured Gautam Gambhir. The game will be Dravid's first and last T20I for India. While England newcomers Alex Hales, Jos Butler, Ben Stokes, etc. will look to impress and stake a claim for a more permanent spot if given a chance.
England go into the game with the winning momentum, but India's successful practice games would have given them much needed confidence. The change in squad has worked in India's favour so far, will it continue to do so in the T20 will depend on how quickly India choose to forget about their disappointing Test series.
World T20 Champions v World ODI Champions
England and India are world champions in the T20 and ODI formats respectively. England won the T20 World Cup in 2010 under Paul Collingwood. The captaincy has changed hands since then, with all rounder, Stuart Broad now leading the team. Broad is still inexperienced as a captain, something that could hinder the hosts.
The Indian team too bears a new look, thanks to a sudden spate of injuries. Dravid and Parthiv Patel could be asked to open the batting, but India strength lies in its middle order with Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni all capable of providing the fireworks. The return of Praveen Kumar too would provide a huge boost for the visitors while R Ashwin will want to prove to many that he is ready to take up Harbhajan Singh's place in the side.
Conditions favour visitors
The pitch at Manchester will please the Indians as it would resemble what they would generally see back home. The weather also is expected to be clear meaning a full game is on the cards.
Quotes
It's interesting how it shapes out. It's important that the captain is a regular in all three formats of the game. One thing sure though is it affords rest: Mahendera Singh Dhoni
We learned from the Sri Lanka defeat and as international cricketers it's exciting to have fresh challenges against a strong Indian team: Stuart Broad
Teams:
England (From): Craig Kieswetter(w), Alex Hales, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Samit Patel, Stuart Broad(c), Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Ben Stokes
India (From): Parthiv Patel, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni(w/c), Praveen Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, RP Singh, Amit Mishra
Watch Live Scoreboard India Vs England Only T20 - from 9.30pm IST, AUg 31 : Click Here