For Mohammed Siraj, the visuals of the ball rolling onto the stumps and dislodging the bails at Lord’s, continued to haunt him for a long time. With India needing another 22 for victory, and a 2-1 series lead within sight, Siraj was left in tears after Shoaib Bashir’s delivery knocked him off, and sealed England’s victory.
India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, who had briefly returned home for a family emergency, is set to rejoin the rest of the squad in Leeds on Tuesday, a couple of days ahead of the first Test against England, starting Friday.
On a roll after recording back-to-back victories in Kolkata and Chennai, India will be aiming to seal the five-match T20I series against England when Suryakumar Yadav & Co take the field for the third game at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday.
After a dominant seven-wicket win in the first T20I, India will look to build on the momentum as they take on England in the second T20I of the five-match series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
Abhishek Sharma has established himself as India’s frontline opener in the shortest version and further cemented his place with a 34-ball 79 to power India to a seven-wicket win in the first of the five-match T20I series against England at the Eden Gardens here on yesterday.
Ending all speculations on Mohammed Shami’s return to international cricket, the star pacer will finally be back in India colours during the upcoming five-match T20I series against England, starting January 22 at his home ground — Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
India, the two-time World Test Championship (WTC) finalists will kickstart the 2025/27 cycle against England with the five Tests at Headingly, Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford and The Oval, with the first match scheduled to begin on June 20.
It’s been 11 years since India finished on the podium as champions. They are on the brink of breaking the deadlock for the second time in seven months, and all that separates them from lifting the ICC men’s T20 World Cup title is a few hours’ time and an unbeaten South African team.
The biggest positives from the series could be the emergence of young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal, scoring in excess of 700 runs, Sarfaraz Khan bludgeoning his way to the side with half centuries, and Dhruv Jurel – the young Uttar Pradesh stumper, who was picked with an experience of just 15 first-class matches.
The unavailability of star players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Mohammed Shami has in a way put the onus on the younger players to prove themselves on the big stage and in a way stake their claim in the side.
