IND vs ENG: 3 likely changes in India’s playing XI for 5th T20I

Suryakumar Yadav’s sensational maiden half-century, alongside Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur’s brilliant bowling at the death propelled India to a thrilling 8-run win in the 4^th T20I against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The blockbuster IND vs ENG five-match T20I series is beautifully poised with a scoreline of 2-2 before the fifth and final T20I match set to start on March 20. It will be interesting to see whether both the teams will be looking to make some big changes in their playing XI for this pressure series decider or not.

3 likely changes in India’s playing XI for India vs England 5^th T20I:

1. Ishan Kishan replaces KL Rahul

Indian opener KL Rahul has had a dismal form in the England vs India T20I series so far. Rahul has registered poor scores of 1, 0, 0 and 14 in the four T20I matches and has been dismissed by England pacers on all the occasions. Therefore, youngster Ishan Kishan who played a wonderful innings of 56 runs off 32 balls on his debut T20I match is likely to replace Rahul in India’s playing XI for the 5^th T20I. Ishan missed the last match due to an injury and is likely to be deemed fit for the final match.

2. Axar Patel in| Washington Sundar out

India’s off-spinner Washington Sundar ended the fourth T20I against England conceding a total of 52 runs in his quota of four overs. Thus, Axar Patel is likely return into the playing XI for the 5^th T20I match as the left-arm spinner bowled incredibly well in his debut Test series. Axar’s addition will also provide India some depth in the batting department as the left-hander is capable of hitting big sixes lower down the order.

3. T Natarajan replaces Shreyas Iyer

Team India have surely missed the services of a sixth bowling option in the last two England vs India T20Is. Therefore, India could be inclined to rest an in-form batsman in Shreyas Iyer who has done impressively well in the series so far and bring in Natarajan as the extra specialist bowling option for the important series decider. In his debut T20I series against Australia, Natarajan bowled really well picking 6 wickets in 3 games and most importantly, the left-arm pacer is now completely fit and was even seen training with the team ahead of the 5^th T20I.

India vs England T20I Live:

The fifth T20I between the two heavyweight teams will be hosted at the Narendra Modi Stadium on 20^th March. IND vs ENG Live 5th T20I will be broadcasted on Hotstar and Star Sports. The first ball will be bowled at 7:00 PM (IST).

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