Team India won the toss and elected to bowl first in the third T20I against England at Nottingham. As a result, England will begin the contest with the bat. India have made one change to their playing XI, bringing in fast bowler Prince Yadav, while the hosts have retained the same side that featured in the previous match.
Shreyas Iyer explains the decision
After winning the toss, India captain Shreyas Iyer said the team preferred to chase.
“We’ll bowl first,” Iyer said. Reflecting on the close defeat in the previous game, he backed his bowlers and termed the result a minor setback.
“It was just a small lapse, something that can happen in cricket. You have to support your bowlers. One of them has been overthinking a bit, but every player goes through such phases. The team is in good spirits, and the boys are full of energy. It was a valuable learning experience for both the individual and the team.”
Playing XIs
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (capt), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (capt), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.
On the conditions, Iyer added that the pitch looked excellent for batting but pointed out that one side of the ground had shorter boundaries, which India hoped to exploit while chasing.
Harry Brook happy to bat first
England skipper Harry Brook admitted his side was undecided at the toss but was content with batting first.
“Honestly, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do, but we were happy to bat anyway,” Brook said.
Praising England’s performance in the previous match, he highlighted the team’s improvement in the field and with the ball.
“I thought we fielded exceptionally well and bowled brilliantly, especially during the middle overs, which was an area we wanted to improve. The batting unit also did a great job of putting runs on the board.”
Brook also lauded his team’s resilience after losing both openers early in the previous game.
“I’ve said it before – this team never feels out of the contest. We have a balanced side and have shown we can fight back from difficult situations.”
Looking ahead to the contest, Brook stressed that every international game carries importance.
“Every match for England is a big one. We’re excited to be here and face another strong Indian side. Hopefully, we can go on and take a 2-0 lead.”
