What

Second Twenty20 International between India and England

When

December 22, 2012, Saturday

Where

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After hosting 23 Test matches and 19 ODIs, the iconic cricket stadium is set to make its T20I debut. The venue for India’s historic 2011 ICC World Cup triumph, Wankhede Stadium is known for its passionate crowd and is the breeding ground of some of India’s finest batsmen.

The Teams

The shortest format has helped India their mind off the recent Test series defeat. The five-wicket win in the first T20I must have elevated the battered morale of the Indian players who were part of the Tests. The inclusion of fresh legs without the baggage of that defeat has also helped keep the dressing room a cheerful place. While the team won, most bowlers remained a worry for MS Dhoni in Pune. It took Yuvraj Singh’s golden left arm to revive them from Alex Hales’ onslaught. From the regular bowlers, all except Ashok Dinda went for runs. The Indian captain might want to rethink his strategies in that department. However, the overall inexperience in the bowling attack might not leave Dhoni with many better options.

England will be glad to return to the venue at which they turned the Test series around in their favour. They will look to make a similar comeback in the shortest format. However, the completely new-look squad and a different format will almost nullify that advantage. Where the experience of playing here recently will come in handy is for Eoin Morgan to pick an optimum playing XI.

Key Players

Changing from white to coloured jersey doesn’t affect many cricketers as much as it does Yuvraj Singh. According to him, he plays with a much freer mind in limited overs cricket. And its impact on his performance is unmistakable. Like he showed yet again, in Pune, Yuvraj can singlehandedly win ODIs and T20Is with bat and ball alike. That he has returned to the team after a long break, will only mean that he is hungrier to perform. England will need to find a way to counter Yuvraj. India will also look to Dinda – the senior-most pacer in the attack – for a tight, fiery spell of four overs, especially when rookies go for over 14 rpo like debutant Parvinder Awana did in the first game.

Alex Hales took the Indians by a storm with his attractive and big hitting in the first 10 overs. When he was on his way to a 28-ball 56, England seemed to be heading towards a 180-plus score. Getting him out early should be India’s first target as a bowling unit. With the ball, spearhead, Tim Bresnan, and T20 specialist, Jade Dernbach, will be expected to lift their game in Mumbai.

Trivia

Yuvraj Singh has scored most runs in Twenty20 Internationals in India – 169. He has also taken more wickets than any other bowler – 6.

Alex Hales’ 56 in the first game is the highest score by an Englishman against India in Twenty20 Internationals.

Statistics

Venue Stats

* Since this is the first Twenty20 International match to be played at Wankhede Stadium, below are reproduced the statistics from the IPL and other Twenty20 matches held here.

1. Average first innings score at Wankhede Stadium: 148

2. Average second innings score at Wankhede Stadium: 138

3. Result summary at Wankhede Stadium:

[First three statistics are from IPL games played at this ground]

Team Stats

4. Head-to-head:

6. Form guide (most recent listed first):

India : Won, Won, Won, Lost, Won (4 wins, 1 loss)

England: Lost, Lost, Won, Lost, Lost (1 win, 4 losses)

The Squads

India: M.S. Dhoni (capt/wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Parvinder Awana, Abhimanyu Mithun

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Johnny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Butler, Jade Dernbach, Alex Hales, James Harris, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, Joe Root, James Tredwell, Luke Wright