India will host England in a five-match T20 series. The hosts are in superb form in the 20-over game and are predicted to come away with the win.
India (1.70) are favourites for the opening match of the series on 22 January according to the Easybet odds. England (2.20) will face them in further T20 internationals on 25 January, 28 January, 31 January and 2 February.
India’s Hot T20 Streak
India won last year’s T20 World Cup and have followed that up by keeping up their impressive form in the 20-over format. In subsequent T20 series’, they have beat Zimbabwe 4-1, Sri Lanka 3-0, Bangladesh 3-0 and South Africa 3-1.
South Africa were India’s opponents in the T20 World Cup final, but even the Proteas were no match for them in a four-match series despite having a home advantage. England, as the visiting side, have an even tougher task on their hands than South Africa did against India.
T20 World Cup Repeat?
England have been in sound T20 form themselves lately. Since the World Cup, they drew 1-1 to Australia and beat the West Indies 3-1. However, the memory of their massive 68-run T20 World Cup semi-final defeat may still loom large over England.
In that match, Rohit Sharma was the top scorer with 57 runs for India off 39 balls, while Suryakumar Yadav scored 47 off 36. England’s top scorer was Harry Brook with 25 runs off 19 balls, while Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets for 19 runs and Axar Patel took 3/23.
India batted first and posted 171 runs, while England were bowled out for a meagre 103. This was a sign of a gulf in quality between the two sides in the T20 game.
Furthermore, India has won all four of the most recent T20 series between the two sides, with the first in that sequence taking place in 2016-17. Although the upcoming series promises to be a tight contest between two top powerhouses, it is clear that England has some work to do if they are to pull off a series upset away from home.
