IND vs ENG Pitch Report: Will it rain runs in Manchester or will the bowlers create ruckus? Know how the weather and pitch will be today

New Delhi: The second match of the ongoing five-match T20 International series between India and England will be played today i.e. on Saturday, July 4 at the historic Old Trafford ground in Manchester. The first match of the series could not be played due to rain. Even in that incomplete match, the Indian batsmen had defeated the English bowlers with their aggressive batting.

how is the weather

Team India’s batting unit, which had struggled against Ireland on the last tour, made a brilliant comeback and scored a strong score of 189 runs on the board. For India, opener Abhishek Sharma and captain Shreyas Iyer played brilliant half-century innings. Whereas all-rounder Shivam Dubey stole the show by playing a stormy innings of 42 runs in just 21 balls. Unfortunately, as soon as the Indian innings ended, the weather changed and the game could not be restarted due to torrential rain. It is a matter of concern that even in Manchester today the weather has deteriorated and the shadow of dark clouds is looming over the match.

How will the Old Trafford pitch be?

The pitch of Old Trafford, Manchester has always been a subject of curiosity for cricket lovers. The extra bounce available on the surface here keeps both fast bowlers and spinners in the game. If the batsmen play patiently, runs can also be scored here. The biggest example of this was seen last year when England scored a huge score of 304 runs by losing only 2 wickets on the same ground, which happened for the first time in T20 history among full member countries. Recently, Women’s T20 World Cup matches were held here, but for today’s match, a completely fresh pitch has been prepared on which light grass has been left. In such a situation, fast bowlers can get help in the initial overs, seeing this the captain who wins the toss can decide to bowl first.

Who has the upper hand?

If we look at the history between the two teams till now, India and England have faced each other a total of 31 times in T20 international cricket. In these matches, the Indian team has won 18 matches, while England had to be satisfied with 12 wins. There was no result in one match. When it comes to English soil, the competition becomes extremely tough.

So far 10 matches have been played between the two teams in England, out of which host England has won 5 matches, while India has lost 4 matches. Here also one match remained inconclusive. Both the teams have a great mix of youth and experienced players, due to which this match is expected to be very exciting. Now the fans are just praying that the weather in Manchester remains clear and they get to see a high-voltage match.

Teams for India-England series

Indian team

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Verma (vice-captain), Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dubey and Prince Yadav.

England team

Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethel, James Coles, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Will Jacks.