Samson IN, Vaibhav OUT! India make two changes as Shreyas Iyer opts to bowl in final T20I against England

India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss once again and chose to bowl first in the fifth and final T20I against England at The Rose Bowl on Saturday. With the series already decided, the visitors made two changes to their playing XI as they look to finish the T20I leg with a morale-boosting performance.

The toss was held 45 minutes later than scheduled after the Indian team got stuck in traffic on the way to the stadium, resulting in a delayed arrival.

England have already secured the series with an unbeatable 3-0 lead and now have another major incentive. A win in the final T20I would not only complete a clean sweep but also take them to the No. 1 spot in the ICC men’s T20I rankings.

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

For India, the match offers a chance to restore some confidence before shifting focus to the three-match ODI series, which begins on July 14 in Birmingham.

India bring back Sanju Samson and Suryansh Shedge

After winning the toss, Shreyas Iyer confirmed two changes to the Indian side. Sanju Samson and Suryansh Shedge returned to the playing XI, replacing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Washington Sundar.

Explaining the decision to bowl first, Iyer pointed to the conditions while also stressing the importance of finishing the tour with the right mindset.

“Today, based on the conditions, it’s windy, and we had a chat before, and they said the wicket won’t change that much, so we’ve elected to bowl first.

“I just want to give 100 per cent effort today, irrespective of the result. I just want them to have a solid state of mind where they go in and just try to get the best out of themselves, rather than sulking or being in a situation where they’re a bit ahead of the game. Be in the moment and just stop thinking about what’s happened and what could happen.”

England eye No. 1 ranking

England captain Harry Brook revealed that left-arm spinner Liam Dawson had replaced leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed in the only change to the home side.

Brook admitted England would have preferred to bat first but remained confident of adapting to the conditions.

“We’d have had a bat, so we’re pretty happy. If we win today, we go to world No. 1, so that’s at the back of our minds. But, as we’ve done all series, we want to adapt to the surface and communicate well.“

Playing XIs

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (captain), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Josh Tongue.

Also Read: Virat Kohli wanted to stay under the Radar, but THIS happened; RCB teammate reveals all