The smattering of grass on the Eden Gardens pitch informed England’s decision of playing a solo frontline spinner in the first T20I while India unleashed a three-pronged spin attack. Explaining the seemingly logic-defying move that went on to have a corpulent bearing on the game, winning captain Suryakumar Yadav said that they prefer sticking to their strengths even if the conditions dictate otherwise.
His claim has got evidential backing by virtue of India’s composition on the South African greentops recently. The merger of the striking ability of their tweakers and the discomfort western teams experience in facing quality spin has made India so confident that they are willing to take variables like nature of the surface and boundary dimensions out of the equation.
It worked like a charm in Kolkata as England scored only 86 runs outside the PowerPlay despite having eight wickets in hand. “We know we’re going to be hit by a lot of spin against India. I expect them to always play at least three spinners in the side. So, lots of guys are going to start against spin and stuff. So, it’s just those individual plans and really committing to it to put the pressure back on them,” said Jos Buttler.
The skipper vows England will go harder but it will be easier said than done on what has historically been a turning track in Chennai. The dismissals of Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook in the series opener suggested an inability to read India’s mystery spinner out of the hand. As many as eight members of the current England squad are naive to Indian conditions, but there is no betting against the visitors’ talent even as the perennial challenge of acclimatization looms overhead.
When: Saturday, January 25 at 7:00 PM IST
Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
What to expect: The average first-innings total at the venue in IPL is 164, and 49 out of 85 matches have been won by teams batting first as the deck becomes lower and slower as the game progresses. On the flipside, six of the nine IPL 2024 matches hosted here saw the chasing sides prevail, with the towels coming out in the second innings as dew made its presence felt. Assessing the climate on match day is important for the think-tanks with respect to the decision at the toss.
Tuning up in Chennai 💪
Ready to hit back tomorrow 👊 pic.twitter.com/UBwolUmkP2
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 24, 2025
Teams watch:
India: The men in blue are in red-hot form and would be loath to mar the momentum by chopping and changing unnecessarily. Hardik Pandya shared the new ball with Arshdeep Singh to allow India to stack an extra spinner in the recent fixture, and given the archetypal spin-friendly conditions in Chennai the wait for game-time may prolong for the returning Mohammed Shami.
Abhishek’s participation is subject to fitness after twisting his ankle at training.
Tactics & Match-ups: When Jos Buttler kickstarted the 17th over with a six over mid-wicket, a total in excess of 150 looked rather attainable. He picks up length in a flash and rocks onto the backfoot to hammer the short-arm pull even off respectable deliveries at times. While spinners are advised to keep the ball away from the slogging arc in the shortest format, the margin for error as far as lengths are concerned is really infinitesimal against Buttler.
Ben Duckett’s three dismissals to left-arm pace in four innings since 2023 and Arshdeep’s triumph in the head-to-head points towards a continuation of his frontloading.
Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
England: Spinning all-rounders Jacob Bethell and Liam Livingstone will have to accompany Rashid if the strip behaves as usual. The former could be an effective option versus Suryakumar as well as Hardik, who have strike-rates of 103.8 and 82.4 against left-arm spin respectively.
Brydon Carse replaces Gus Atkinson in the 12-member squad while Jamie Smith has been added as cover with Bethell reporting ill.
Tactics & Match-ups: Since January 2024, England have had an economy rate of 9.14 in the PowerPlay, the highest among full-member teams. To hit England where it hurts, Abhishek Sharma came out all guns blazing and T20 royalty Suryakumar, who toggles between No.3 and No.4 positions, walked out at one drop.
The express pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood played into India’s hands on a ground with short square boundaries, so England might be tempted to introduce spin early. Rashid has dismissed left-handers 10 times in 22 T20Is since 2023.
Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
What they said:
“Even if I go for a six, I look for a wicket next ball. To attack a lot, that’s what has been told to me by the management. I keep different plans for people who pick me. And different plans for those who don’t,” Varun Chakravarthy outlines his bowling approach.
“Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler. But with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick. Hopefully, the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier,” Harry Brook describes experiencing vision problems in Kolkata.
Did you know?
Chepauk has staged only two T20Is till date and each of them produced last-ball finishes. The first was back in 2012 when New Zealand pipped India by one run while the hosts emerged victorious over West Indies in 2018.