A host of first-team players including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja returned to the T20I action on Saturday as India takes on England in the second match of the series against England. India are currently leading the three-match series 1-0, and there were four changes in the XI with Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh sitting out from the team in the previous game.
While it was all but confirmed that Kohli would be replacing Ishan Kishan in the opening order in the XI, not many expected Deepak Hooda to be dropped from the side. Moreover, it was Rishabh Pant who opened the batting for India alongside Rohit Sharma!
Hooda had produced a strong performance in the recent T20I outings that included a century against Ireland last month. In the first match of the series against England, Hooda had scored a brisk 33 off 17 deliveries as began his innings with two successive sixes.
As Hooda was sidelined for the game in Birmingham, here's how Twitter reacted:
Earlier, England had won the toss and opted to bowl in the second T20I at Edgbaston.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, England had won the toss and opted to bowl in the second T20I at Edgbaston.
{{/usCountry}}India are heading into the second T20I after registering a thumping 50-run win in the first T20I after they went all out on a new-look English team with an attacking batting and tight bowling.
England, on the other hand, are looking forward to playing the 'Eoin Morgan' brand of cricket under the new skipper Jos Buttler and also exercise caution while playing against a world-class opponent.
England captain Jos Buttler said his team has a great chance to bounce back in the series in the match at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham.
"We are going to bowl first. Willey and Gleeson come in for Topley and Mills. Excited for him. It's a great chance to bounce back, expect us to come back harder today. It is a fantastic ground, India gets great support here as well."