India v England Third T20I: Expert Predictions & Analysis

India v England predictions: 

• Ravi Bishnoi under 1.5 wickets - 1.80 @ Rajabets Sports
• Jos Buttler over 27.5 runs - 1.83 @ Rajabets Sports
• Suryakumar Yadav under 26.5 runs - 1.83 @ Rajabets Sports

When: Tuesday 28 January, 7:00pm IST

Where: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

Watch: Star Sports, Hotstar

Best Odds: India 1.40, England 3.00

The two million-strong city of Rajkot has seen some tremendous batting performances from the India T20I team over the past decade and a bit! 

Starting with a run chase of 202 led by Yuvraj Singh through to the second of Suryakumar Yadav’s four T20I centuries when he made 112* from just 51 balls against Sri Lanka two years ago, Rajkot has also witnessed superb bowling efforts from Avesh Khan (4-18) and Arshdeep Singh (3-20) during its five T20Is. 

Now it could be the site of India sealing a five-game series against England with two to spare after they took a 2-0 lead with a nervy run chase in Chennai.

Despite England’s all-round improvement in that match, cricket betting sites have further reduced India’s win odds for the third T20I, albeit only very slightly in response to England beginning to close parity between the two sides. 

The Numbers That Matter

• India have a 4-1 T20I record in Rajkot
• The average all-time run rate in Rajkot T20Is is 8.91rpo
• Adil Rashid took exactly 1 wicket in 8 of his last 10 bowling innings
• Harry Brook scored less than 30 in all six T20I innings v India

Varun’s success is to Ravi’s detriment

Leg-break bowler Ravi Bishnoi has played a backseat role in this series, not only to lead bowler Varun Chakravarthy but even to the vice-captain Axar Patel, who has surprised some by taking two wickets in both games of the series so far. 

Bishnoi has bowled tightly in both matches, conceding just two boundaries in each, but the 24-year-old has failed to be incisive or penetrative, completing his two four-over quotas without a single wicket. 

It’s part of a long-term drop in wicket-taking form in this format that has seen Bishnoi register five consecutive 0-1 wicket hauls in T20Is since opening the tour of South Africa with 3-28. 

He has now bowled a total of 12.4 overs across all T20s to England’s last to top seven for just two wickets at an average of 41, so there’s not a lot to suggest he’ll be breaking his drought here. 

A price of nearly even money on some Indian bookmakers, therefore, looks to be fantastic value. 

Prediction: Ravi Bishnoi under 1.5 wickets - 1.80 @ Rajabets Sports

England’s unstoppable captain

‘Unstoppable’ is, of course, an exaggeration, but England’s wicketkeeper-skipper has been drawing upon his several years of IPL experience to outperform his teammates in both games.

Buttler recorded 68 and 45 in the opening two matches of the series, both at scoring rates in the low nines, whilst his team run rate was just 6.60rpo and 8.25rpo respectively.

The 34-year-old has now batted in 17 T20Is in India for an exceptional average of 44.91 on Indian soil. That includes five not-outs, Buttler averages more than 31 runs per T20I innings in India regardless of whether or not he was dismissed. 

Looking into more recent history, he scored more than 27.5 runs in five of his seven T20Is in India, which makes backing over 27.5 for this game an appealing prospect. 

That’s especially the case when he has now scored 525 runs in all T20s against India’s last bowling attack, averaging 58.33 (83 in T20Is and 46 in IPL). 

Prediction: Jos Buttler over 27.5 runs - 1.83 @ Rajabets Sports

Fool us once, shame on you…

We leaned on Suryakumar Yadav’s IPL history in Chennai to back him to make an impactful score in the second T20I, but he continues to have trouble with England’s fast bowlers. 

After being hurried into an uncontrolled pull shot in the first match by Jofra Archer, Suryakumar was dismissed for just 12 in the second T20I when rushed into a loose shot by Brydon Carse. 

That was the first ball that Carse had ever bowled to SKY, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can correct his mistake in this match, but it’s clear that he has ongoing deficiencies against express pace bowling. 

In addition to being bowled by Carse’s only delivery, Jofra Archer now has head-to-head figures of 3-37 to SKY in all T20s, whilst he has faced just nine deliveries from Mark Wood for only ten runs. 

On what could be another bouncy surface, we’ll be doing what worked for our readers in the first T20I and tipping him to fall short of the threshold set by Indian betting sites. 

Prediction: Suryakumar Yadav under 26.5 runs - 1.83 @ Rajabets Sports