India's predicted XI for the 5th T20I against England
India and England are going to face off with each other in the final T20I match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday. In the first game, England beat the hosts by chasing down the simple target of 125 runs posted by them. However, India came back strongly in the second match and beat the visitors by chasing the target of 165 runs with the help of Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan.
After that, the visitors once again showed their ability on the field as they won the third game against India as everyone witnessed two great innings of Virat Kohli's 77 and Jos Buttler's 83 respectively. Then things changed in the last game where both the best teams fought hard with each other and as a result, Virat Kohli and his men won the battle and levelled the series for 2-2. So, let's have a look at the predicted xi of Team India for the upcoming game:
Openers:
KL Rahul
The Karnataka based cricketer didn't have a good time in the ongoing series. Rahul bagged 2 ducks and a one in the first three games and scored 14 runs in the last. Overall, the latter has scored only 15 runs in his last four outings and will definitely look forward to scoring runs in the upcoming game.
Moreover, his lack of form has raised criticism among fans. However, Virat Kohli clearly said that KL Rahul will open the innings along with Rohit Sharma ahead of the rest of the games. KL Rahul has represented India in 49 games and has scored 1557 runs at an average of around 40 including 2 hundred and 12 fifties to his name.
Rohit Sharma:
Without any doubt, Rohit Sharma is one of the best openers present in the modern era. But he handed a simple catch to Jofra Archer in the previous match and departed after scoring 15 runs for his team. In the last two games, he has scored 27 runs for his side and will be looking to score big ahead of the final match against England. Fans are eagerly expecting a big inning from Rohit Sharma in the 5th T20I on Saturday.
Middle-order:
Suryakumar Yadav
The Mumbaikar showed a power-packed batting in the 4th T20I where he scored 57 off just 31 balls before being dismissed by Sam Curran. Surya's wicket has created a controversy after the game as everyone say that his catch was not clearly taken by Dawid Malan.
It was a difficult task for the umpire's to see those low catches near the boundary rope. Let's see could he continue his same form in the final game against the visitors.
Virat Kohli
The skipper of the side, Virat Kohli demoted himself for Suryakumar Yadav in the fourth match. His sacrifice didn't go in vain as the latter amassed 57 off just 31 balls. After conceding a duck in the first T20, Kohli came back strongly as he scored back to back fifties in the second and third game.
Besides, he once again went back to the pavilion after for a single digit in the previous outing as he was stumped by Jos Buttler in the over of Adil Rashid. Kohli will be looking forward to winning the next battle to win the T20 series against England.
Rishabh Pant
The wicket-keeper batsman, Rishabh Pant is the kind of batsman who can turn things around at any moment of the game. He has scored 102 runs in the ongoing series and didn't score below 20 runs in any of the game. He can up the run-rate in the middle overs even after losing some big wickets at the start. The English bowlers will definitely look to depart the young lad before he starts going on.
Shreyas Iyer:
The skipper of the Delhi Capitals franchise, Shreyas Iyer is expected to bat at the same position where he batted in the last four games. He has scored 121 runs in the series including a fifty in the first game. He can build the innings in the middle and can score big once he gets the ball under his eyes. Let's see how he going to perform in the final game.
All-rounders
Hardik Pandya
The flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya has the ability to destroy any best bowling line-up in any kind of situation. He will do the late hitting along with Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant or any others. He has scored 47 runs from his last three innings and contributed with the ball as well. In the previous game, he showed off his skills as he just gave 16 runs and picked up two wickets in his spell.
Washington Sundar
The Tamil Nadu based cricketer will bat down the order due to the presence of some big stars in the team. Sundar has bagged 4 wickets for his team in the ongoing series whereas he didn't get enough opportunity to contribute with the bat. However, he has been expensive in the previous game as he gave away 52 runs in his spell. Sundar has to bowl well in the next game which would help India to get some wickets in the start.
Bowlers:
Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur has the ability to hit the ball out of the park. In addition to that, he has been sent above Washington Sundar to fetch some runs and has done enough with the ball as well. Shardul Thakur has picked up 3 wickets in the last match and overall of 5 to his name. Shardul Thakur has to hit the right line and length to keep the England batter tight during the powerplay overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar coming back to the team after a long time due to injury and other reasons. He is looking in very good touch with the ball as he would not concede more than 30 runs in his spell. He even bowled a maiden over during the 4th T20I against England and ended his spell with the numbers 1 for 30. He is the leading pacer of his side and his tight bowling makes the English batters lose their wickets whether it's a powerplay or death overs.
Rahul Chahar
Rahul Chahar replaced Yuzvendra Chahal in the previous encounter as he conceded a lot of runs in his last three outings. But, Rahul Chahar did his job perfectly in the fourth T20 as he bagged 2 wickets and conceded 35 runs in his spell. He has to keep his bowling tight to contain the run flow which would help him to get the breakthrough at regular intervals.