ENG vs IND 2nd T20: Waiting for the first win under Iyer’s captaincy, pressure on Sanju Samson; Everyone’s eyes will be on these 3 players

ENG vs IND 2nd T20: The second match of the T20 series between India and England will be played in Manchester today. Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, Team India will take the field with the intention of registering its first win. The first match of the series was canceled due to rain, so both the teams will try to take the lead in this match.

The biggest question before the second T20 is whether Sanju Samson, who has been struggling with poor form, will be retained in the playing eleven or will young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi get a chance to make his international debut. Apart from this, everyone will also keep an eye on the performance of Akshar Patel and Tilak Verma.

Do or die fight for Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson, who was the Player of the Tournament of the T20 World Cup 2026, has been seen struggling to score runs in recent matches.

On the Ireland tour, he could not play big innings in both the matches. In the first match, he scored 4 runs in 5 balls, while in the second match he was out without opening the account. Even in the first T20 against England, he returned to the pavilion after scoring only 1 run in 7 balls.

In such a situation, it is expected that he may get another chance, but if the bat does not work this time too, then the threat to his place in the team may increase. Vaibhav Suryavanshi remains in the news as his replacement.

All-round performance expected from Akshar Patel

Experienced all-rounder Akshar Patel is expected to contribute usefully in the lower order with both batting and bowling, but he has not been able to live up to expectations in recent matches.

In the last match, Harshit Rana was sent to bat above him, which raised questions on his current form. His performance in IPL 2026 was also not impressive. In such a situation, Akshar will have a good chance to prove himself in the second T20.

Tilak Verma will have to show more aggressive batting

T20 team vice-captain Tilak Verma is expected to bat fast and responsible in the middle order.

In the first T20 against England, he scored 13 runs in 13 balls. Earlier, in the first match against Ireland, he had scored 19 runs on 21 balls, while in the second match he had scored 55 runs on 46 balls.

Although he definitely scored a half-century, questions were raised about his strike rate. He will be expected to bat more aggressively in the second T20.

Will Vaibhav Suryavanshi get a chance to debut today?

The wait for the international debut of young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi is continuously increasing.

He did not get a chance in both the matches of the Ireland tour and was not part of the playing eleven even in the first T20 against England.

In view of Sanju Samson’s poor form, the discussion about Vaibhav’s selection is definitely intense, but at the moment it is believed that the team management may give another opportunity to Sanju. In such a situation, the wait for Vaibhav may be longer.

biggest focus of the match

In the second T20, Team India will be eyeing to register its first win in the series. All eyes will be on the performance of Sanju Samson, Akshar Patel and Tilak Verma. Along with this, cricket lovers will also be interested in whether Vaibhav Suryavanshi finally gets a chance to debut for India or not.

Also read: Sai Sudharsan Century: Sai Sudarshan’s bat roared again, India A has a strong hold on Sri Lanka A with Devdutt Padikkal’s century.