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England vs West Indies 2017, one-off T20I at Chester-le-Street: Chris Gayle vs Tom Curran and other key battles

The stage could not be better for redemption, as the reigning World T20 champions West Indies get set to face off against England.

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Tom Curran’s (left) litmus test will be his spell against West Indian opener Chris Gayle © Getty Images (File Photo)

The 1-2 defeat in the just concluded Test series was a much-improved show by West Indies. No one had expected Jason Holder’s men to win a Test in England. However, the stage could not be better for the redemption, as the reigning World Twenty20 (T20) champions get set to face off against the hosts England again, in the one-off Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Saturday. The West Indies have been in fine form in the shortest format of the game, proving why they are the reigning World T20 champions. However, with the game being played in England, the hosts do hold an advantage. Therefore, an interesting content is certainly on the cards. Meanwhile, let us have a look at the possible key battles for this tie. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs West Indies 2017 – one-off T20I at Chester-le-Street

Tom Curran vs Chris Gayle:The newest pace sensation of England, Tom Curran has been grabbing headlines of late, especially owing to his splendid performance in the domestic circuit. He is being backed extensively for this tie as he made a promising start to his T20I career against his country of birth, South Africa.

His litmus test will be his spell against West Indian opener Chris Gayle. It is needless to say how dangerous can Gayle be in the format, as he has time and again proved, that once he gets going, there isn’t stopping him. Therefore, Curran must get his homework done properly in order to get rid of the big Jamaican early on in the innings and stand England a chance to win this tie.

Eoin Morgan vs Sunil Narine: Although not exactly the clash of the skippers, but Morgan has time and often struggled against spin. With the game being held at Chester-le-Street, the wicket is expected to be on the slower side, allowing spinners with an advantage. This could well mean trouble for Morgan, and he is all set to face stern competition from the West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who has been consistently lethal with his deadly spin. And with the conditions being spin-friendly, Narine is surely to make an impact. Therefore, Morgan, if not attack against Narine, must handle him tactfully.

Jason Roy vs Jerome Taylor:When it comes England’s opening batting, Jason Roy is the name that strikes on everybody’s mind. The current team has seen Roy getting off to flying starts allowing England to steer towards a match winning and challenging totals. Although owing to this aggressive approach, Roy tends to lose his wickets early, but when he gets going, England are more or less destined to winsgames.

Although he has been struggling with his form of late, but some good show in the Natwest T20 Blast 2017 makes him one of the players to be watched out for in this tie. However, his preparations could be cut short, if Jerome Taylor gets the better of him with his experience. Taylor is an experienced campaigner with the new ball, and has been impactful in the format, especially in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

David Willey vsEvin Lewis: England too has a solid fast-bowling line-up. David Willey is one such man of late, who has made tremendous impact with his fast bowling, especially with the new ball. He too was impactful in the Natwest T20 Blast 2017, and has been a regular member in the England’s bowling line-up, in limited-overs cricket. However, just like Gayle and Curran, he too is all set to face tough contest from another hard-hitting West Indian opener Evin Lewis, who was impressive in the just concluded CPL. He along with Gayle possess immense ability to steer the West Indies to a high-scoring total, and of they both get going, it’s not just Willey and Curran, the entire English bowling attack will fall short. Therefore, Willey too needs to do his proper homework before taking the field on Saturday.

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