After being humbled by India in the first T20 on Thursday, England will be aiming to level the three-match series in the second clash at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Following England's swashbuckling performances in the recent Tests against New Zealand and India, the hope was that this form could be transferred onto the limited-overs stage and it's not as if confidence wasn't high within the camp, as they recently whitewashed the Netherlands 3-0 in an ODI series.
However, Jos Buttler's first game in charge since being appointed as Eoin Morgan's successor ended in disappointment as India made 198-8 before bowling the Three Lions out for 148 - a massive 50-run victory for the tourists.
While England will be desperate to make amends quickly, they face a tough challenge given India's added options. The tourists will have Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja all available for the clash in the Midlands, with the quintet missing the win in Southampton after they were involved in the recent Test loss.
| What: | England v India 2nd T20 international |
| Where: | Edgbaston, Birmingham |
| When: | Saturday, 9th July - 14:30 |
| How to watch: | Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket |
| Odds: | England 1/1, India 4/5 |
Aggressive approach pays off for India
One area in which India significantly improved on Thursday was their batting in the first powerplay and how they put pressure on England's bowlers from the off.
In recent times, Rohit Sharma's men have struggled to get off to quick starts, allowing the opposition to keep them in check, but it was a very different story on the south coast.
After the first six overs, India had raced to 66 runs and although they had lost two wickets, they had given themselves a solid platform to build from and that is exactly what they did, with four of England's bowlers finishing with economy rates in double figures.
Sharma and Co will be looking to continue this aggressive style, one that is similar to England, and it's worth giving Deepak Hooda another chance to be his side's top batter at 9/2.
The 27-year-old, who scored an unbeaten 47 and then 104 in the recent two-match series against Ireland, made 33 off 17 balls at The Ageas Bowl and his powerful hitting makes him a real threat.
Swing was king
While the plaudits went to Hardik Pandya for his 51 runs and bowling figures of 4-33 in the first T20, it was Bhuvneshwar Kumar's performance that really set India up.
The 32-year-old was getting the ball to swing both ways, causing huge issues for the England batters, while he was also getting the ball to zip through nicely and this stunted the hosts in their response.
Kumar had figures of 1-10 from his three overs, as he got the crucial wicket of Buttler for a golden duck, and it's 3/1 for him to be his country's top bowler in Birmingham.
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Change at the top
There is no doubting the quality of Jason Roy and he has been a cornerstone for England in recent years on both the ODI and T20 stages. However, he has been struggling of late and made just four runs from 16 balls on Thursday.
He has made just two scores over 40 in his last nine T20 appearances and the 31-year-old has found life particularly difficult against India, with his last four innings reading nine, 40, zero and four.
England may decide to take Roy out of the firing line and this could present an opportunity to Phil Salt, who has been pressing his claims for a spot at the top of the order.
The 25-year-old registered knocks of 122, 77 and 49 in the recent ODI series against the Netherlands, while he also made 57 on his T20 debut for his country in the West Indies back in January this year.
Salt's game has been developing nicely over the past couple of years, with his time playing for the Adelaide Strikers in the 2019/20 Big Bash proving invaluable, and he is 7/2 to be England's top batter on Saturday.
Experience can't be underestimated
While the likes of Matt Parkinson, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley and Sam Curran were getting smashed around The Ageas Bowl, one player that shone with the ball was Chris Jordan.
The seamer offers lots of different variations and finished with figures of 2-23 in Southampton to take him to the top of England's all-time T20 wicket-takers with 82.
Jordan knew to mix up his line and length, while also throwing in slower balls to keep the batters on their toes, and this is why he has had so much success in this format of the game.
The 33-year-old is a class act and it would be no surprise to see him top his country's bowling stats, which is priced at 15/4, in Birmingham.
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