The players are out in the middle and we are ready for live action.. A couple of slips in place and here we go!!
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy
England (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Suryakumar Yadav: We wanted to bat first, looks a good wicket. I am hoping there won't be much dew. It's going to be a full-packed stadium tonight. We want the boys taking that responsibility, that's what we demand and that's what they are doing. You will fail sometimes, especially when you play that high risk, high reward game. Shami comes back in for Arshdeep Singh.
Jos Buttler: We played some good cricket in patches. We should have executed it better though. Need to grab the special moments in the game. There's a good vibe in the team, it's a good venue and it's a great crowd. It's a good wicket, Mark Wood comes back in. Both teams are high-octane. We have four impact subs in our team.
England have won the toss and have opted to field
Pitch report: A venue where boundary count is very high. 64m and 63n square boundaries respectively, 71m down the ground. It's a red soil pitch. There are a few cracks but not much grass near the full length early. There's some grass cover around the good length area, so there might be some movement for the pace bowlers. The pacers need to target the stumps. There hasn't been much dew around, but electing to bowl first is a good option, reckons Nick Knight.
Your favourite Dinesh Karthik is back and he will answer all your questions after the 5th T20I vs England. Fire them in using #heyCB on X, and stand a chance to feature in our next episode
18:00 Local Time, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST: Hello everyone! Welcome to our live coverage of the fifth and final T20I of this series. India have already won the series as they lead by a 3-1 margin, and today is a chance to present opportunities to the players on the bench. England have been pretty mediocre on this tour so far, and the visitors will need a special performance tonight to uplift themselves before we head into the ODIs. India's middle-order has put up some fine performances over the last week and a half, but Sanju Samson has struggled throughout. Archer has troubled the opener on several occasions, so it would be interesting to watch out for their battle once again. India's bowling has been top notch and the hosts will be looking forward to replicating the same tonight. Do we see a better effort from the England batters or will they continue to disappoint the England fans? We shall find out soon, stay around for the toss and teams..
Preview by Vijay Tagore
The Wankhede contest was not to be a dead rubber. England were in the game till about the 35th over before they lost their way to surrender the match by 15 runs in Pune. It's going to be an antic-climatic end to what promised to be an exciting match - series as well - on Sunday.
England have made noise about the concussion substitute but more than Harshit Rana, who they allege was an unfair (not like for like) concussion replacement, it was their self-subversion rather than Rana's extra venom (extra pace as Jos Buttler would say) that brought about their downfall in Pune.
"No common sense - it doesn't make sense to me," Nick Knight, a former England opener, told Cricbuzz on Rana coming in place of Shivam Dube. But the former England opener, who is here as a commentator, blamed the Buttler side. "However, England were in a position to win the game regardless IMO (in my opinion)."
Even Buttler conceded his side should have won the game. "We're disappointed. I thought we did a lot of things really well: the early wickets set them back and we were in a great position in the powerplay. We got in positions to win the game and it's disappointing that we didn't." The England skipper was livid; he was honest too.
It now appears England have moved on; as one presumes India would too. With the series done and dusted, it is likely that would bring in the bench. It could be an important contest for Mohammed Shami, who has played just one of the four games so far. Bowling coach Morne Morkel hinted that the veteran pacer will come into the mix at the Wankhede.
"Shami has been bowling really well. You know, catching to him at warm-ups, (the ball) is really hitting the glove hard. So, (we're) very happy with how he's coming along. You know, he's probably going to get an opportunity in the next game. We'll see how things go. But, yeah, (we're) excited to have him back in the group," Morkel said.
Shami not playing more games in the series was apparently not a surprise. He was picked so that he could be with the physios and trainers and prepare well for the more challenging ODIs and the Champions Trophy assignment. All eyes will be on him just as on the off-colour duo of Sanju Samson and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who would be hoping the familiar home conditions will bring his 360 degree play to the fore.
When: Sunday, February 2 at 7 PM IST
Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
What to expect: As always with the Wankhede, teams would want to bat second. The English fast bowlers can expect a fair amount of bounce on the surface but overall a placid track full of runs is expected.
Team Watch
India
The chances are that Mohammed Shami would get a look-in just as the likes of Ramandeep Singh. Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel too could get a chance. There will be focus on Sanju Samson who has had very unflattering scores of 1, 3, 5 and 26.
Tactics and Match-up
While India have repeatedly gone in with only one frontline pacer in the series, a change in tactic could be in store given the conditions expected at the Wankhede. If they do go down that route, it will be interesting to see which spinner makes way.
Predicted XI: Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube/Ramandeep Singh/Dhruv Jurel, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh/Harshit Rana
England
Changes in the batting lineup are unlikely for England but there is a case for Jofra Archer to get rested ahead of the ODI series and the Champions Trophy. That could mean a recall for Gus Atkinson. Mark Wood might have also been in contention had the series been still alive heading into this game.
B6$
England's brave approach against spin despite their struggles might finally pay off at this venue. Jacob Bethell struggled at No.6 on his return to the XI so a promotion for the youngster is something England could ponder.
B7$ Phil Salt (WK), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (C), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood
Squads:
England Squad: Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Smith, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed
India Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Ramandeep Singh, Mohammed Shami