India Vs England Highlights, T20 World Cup 2021: Shami, KL Rahul, and Kishan lead India to 7-wicket win in Warm-up match

"Now that the sun has gone down, it should skid on a bit more. West Indies batted a bit slow, Pakistan did show that the wicket is getting better. Should be more runs than the first game."

-Reckon Dale Steyn and Deep Dasgupta in the Pitch Report

1) YUZVENDRA CHAHAL - 12

2) HARDIK PANDYA- 9

3) HARBHAJAN SINGH- 8

1) VIRAT KOHLI- 17 matches, 577 runs

2) ROHIT SHARMA- 11 matches, 317 runs

3) MS DHONI - 14 matches, 296 runs

Jos Buttler (C), Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

"Everyone is excited. Good to get together. Obviously, he (Morgan) is having a rest after those weeks in the IPL. Gives others a chance of exposure. I’m sure India are going to come hard at us, there will be a lot of intensity. Some have come from the IPL for us while many are coming directly from back home. It’s about adapting to the team roles. Pushing for places is important, it’s something that’s driven us over the last many years. There is a lot of competitiveness and it really drives the guys. It’s been healthy for us."

"We will bowl first. The idea is to create some energy and momentum as a team. We have played in different teams recently (in the IPL). We have had success in the past. So we want to create that same energy, fielding is the best place to start I reckon when eleven guys are together. The IPL is right up there in terms of level and competitiveness, but this is paramount. Indian cricket is the priority for everyone. That has to be case. Adapatability is what matters. People play different roles in their IPL teams. It's about adapting quickly to this team now, who plays where is what matters. We are pretty sorted in terms of how we are going to start in the first game. Outside of that we just want to give opportunity to guys in these games as much as possible. We will look to give game-time to most of them. Things were different before IPL, now it's difficult to look beyond KL Rahul at the top of the order. Rohit is a no-brainer. World-class player, he's been solid up front. I will be batting at 3. That's the only news I can give to start off (smiles)."

The news everyone had been waiting for. Virat Kohli confirms that in this game at least, KL Rahul will open and that he will bat at No.3

India captain Virat Kohli wins toss, opts to field against England in Dubai

Right then! Are you guys ready? It's almost toss time.

Here's a look at the top wicket-takers for India in the shortest format. No.1 in the list is not even in the reserves of India's squad.

1) YUZVENDRA CHAHAL- 63

2) JASPRIT BUMRAH-59

3) R ASHWIN- 52

Here's a look at the top run-getters for India in the shortest format.

1) VIRAT KOHLI- 3159

2) ROHIT SHARMA- 2864

3) SHIKHAR DHAWAN- 1579

Two of these players are in the present side. Watch out, other teams.

Matches-19 | IND- 10, ENG- 9

MS Dhoni is now with the Indian team. On Sunday night, BCCI posted a photo of Dhoni, who is now “Mentor Singh" Dhoni in fond words, could be seen with the coaching staff

India last played a T20I game against Sri Lanka. A second-string side had travelled down south and they lost the series 2-1.

1st T20I- India won by 38 runs

2nd T20I - SL won by 4 wickets

3rd T20I - SL won by 7 wickets

The last time these sides met in a T20I, it was during England's tour in the first quarter of 2021. The two powerhouses squared off against each other in a five-match bilateral series and India ended up winning it 3-2 at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Can India carry the good form against the England side?

Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler(w), Eoin Morgan(c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Sam Billings

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakaravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy: Matches-10 | Wickets -11 | Economy Rate- 5.72

Ravindra Jadeja: Matches-9 | Wickets -7 | Economy Rate- 7.4

R Ashwin: Matches-8 | Wickets -6 | Economy Rate- 30.66

Rahul Chahar: Matches-4 | Wickets -2 | Economy Rate- 58

India's swashbuckling batsman Rishabh Pant did score more than 400 runs in the IPL but did not look at his menacing best. Despite registering 3 fifties, he was unable to play any outrageous cameos, something the teams he represents bank on. Can he find his groove?

Continuing the attempt to find the right opening partner for Rohit Sharma, here's a look at their numbers in the recently-concluded IPL 2021.

KL Rahul: Matches -13 | Runs- 626 | Average- 62.60 | SR 138.80 | 50s- 6

Virat Kohli: Matches -15 | Runs- 405 | Average- 28.92 | SR 119.46 | 50s- 3

Ishan Kishan: Matches -10 | Runs- 241 | Average- 26.77 | SR 133.88 | 50s- 2

YOUR PICK WOULD BE?

KL Rahul: Matches -103 | Runs- 4245 | Average- 48.23 | SR 140.84 | 100s- 2 | 50s- 39

Virat Kohli: Matches -84| Runs- 3028 | Average- 43.25 | SR 137.69 | 100s- 5 | 50s- 20

Ishan Kishan: Matches -57 | Runs- 1772 | Average- 34.07 | SR 138.43 | 100s- 2 | 50s- 11

Who will open with Rohit Sharma? This is currently one of the biggest questions in everyone's mind?

-Can anyone convince Kohli to bat at no.3?

-Is it even possible to overlook KL Rahul's stellar form coming into the showpiece event?

-How strong a case does Ishan Kishan make?

As expected, the BCCI decided to go with a spin-heavy attack. Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, and Varun Chakaravarthy are in the main squad. Considering recent exploits of the four spinners, it is clear that irrespective of a four-prong or a three-way pace attack, Ravindra Jadeja will be a part of the scheme of things. Now, it remains to be seen whether Kohli goes with the experience of Ashwin or the youth and deception of Chakaravarthy.

India, until the Playoffs stage of IPL 2021, was only going to send three pacers to the World Cup in the main squad. However, with Pandya not bowling, they decided to shift spinner Axar Patel to the reserves and promote Shardul Thakur to the main squad. 

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah to choose from, it will be interesting to see how Kohli approaches the pace attack

This may be an unofficial, warm-up game but by no means, it is an unimportant match for the side, especially for Hardik Pandya. Whether he bowls or not will play a huge role in Shastri and Kohli fielding the first Playing XI against Pakistan. Hence, this game is as good as dress rehearsal for the Baroda all-rounder