Team India will look to salvage some pride when they meet England in the fifth and final T20I in Utilita Bowl (Rose Bowl), Southampton, on July 11. Now England have already clinched the series, the hosts will want a clean sweep, while India will hope for a win to end the tour.
The series has been a disappointing one for the Men in Blue under Shreyas Iyer. India came into the England leg on the back of two defeats against Ireland and has failed to turn things around. After the opening T20I against England was washed out, the visitors lost the next three matches, and England took an unassailable five-match lead in the series.
The final game is, after all, the last one, so both teams are going to have to come through. India will finish the tour on a positive note while England will look to continue their dominant run and complete a 4-0 series victory.
Southampton Pitch Report
The Utilita Bowl (Rose Bowl) is one of the best batting surfaces in England and white-ball cricket, and so there is a lot of pace and bounce in the pitch so if the ball settles in, the batters will be able to play their shots.
Fast bowlers may get some help with the new ball during the opening overs, especially if there is cloud cover, but the pitch usually becomes easier for batting as the match develops. Spinners are likely to take a supporting role and will be more dependent on variations than turn.
Given the nature of the surface, there could be more of the same high-scoring encounter. Teams batting first have often been successful at times because they have been able to put the scoreboard pressure on the opposition by scoring consistently.
A total of over 200 runs could be a match-winning score if the batting side can capitalize on the conditions.
Weather Forecast
The weather in Southampton is expected to be favorable for cricket. There may be clouds, but no significant rain delays are expected to occur, and the weather forecast is promising. Temperatures should be nice, and the conditions are expected to be ideal for a full 20 overs of cricket.
Predicted Playing XIs
England (Predicted XI):
Phil Salt
Jos Buttler (wk)
Will Jacks
Harry Brook (captain)
Jacob Bethell
Tom Banton
Sam Curran
Liam Dawson
Jofra Archer
Adil Rashid
Saqib Mahmood
India (Predicted XI):
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Abhishek Sharma
Ishan Kishan (wk)
Shreyas Iyer (captain)
Tilak Varma
Shivam Dube
Axar Patel
Washington Sundar / Suryansh Shedge
Harshit Rana
Arshdeep Singh
Prince Yadav
What to Expect
India will probably go all out aggressive in the final T20I and try various combinations in the batting order or bowling combinations even with nothing to lose. England, however, will be full of confidence after winning the series so far and will be keen to keep the momentum going.
But fans should expect a great contest between two attacking batting line-ups on a surface that is typically favored by stroke play. Whether India will finally get their first win in the series or England will complete a clean sweep will be the point of note when the series comes to a close.
