England vs India 2018: 5 player battles to watch out for
After smashing Ireland in the two-match T20I series, the Indian team now awaits a sterner challenge in the form of the England cricket team in Manchester.
The three-match T20I series promises to be an interesting affair with both teams having almost all the bases covered.
The England team look like a marauding One Day outfit and their recent series against a hapless Australian side drives home the point that their a ruthless team in home conditions with a white ball in the vicinity.
India, on the other hand, were dealt a big blow with the injury to Jasprit Bumrah, but they have adequate replacements to get the job done on the day.
On flat docile pitches, the team which bats better will stand on the winner's podium at the end of the day.
Here in this slider, we take a look at five player battles which might well define the course of not only the first T20I but also the series as a whole.
#5 Siddarth Kaul vs Eoin Morgan
With the injury to Jasprit Bumrah, Siddarth Kaul might get three more games in England to prove his mettle. He generally bowls in the middle phase of the innings and if his IPL form is anything to go by, looks to pick up wickets instead of plugging the runs and against a rampant English side, this will hold him in good stead.
However, the England captain Eoin Morgan would look to take charge of proceedings during the aforementioned period and he has the ability to plunder the inexperience of Kaul. He has also been in sparkling form in the recent past and has been the finisher for England over the past twelve months.
How the middle and death overs pan out might well determine how the series is set up.