India - W L W L 

India have been ‘hit or miss’ in this SRL and their recent run of form serves as the testament to the same. It’s the uncharacteristic inconsistency of the Men in Blue that has continued to bug fans throughout the tournament, with them being invincible one day, whilst failing to turn up on the other. However, having beaten an extremely strong Aussie side on Thursday, Virat Kohli’s men would be brimming with confidence and hence would be looking to carry the same form over, heading into their clash versus England on Friday.

After a somewhat shaky start, England seem to have tidied themselves up with time and the same has reflected on their results, of late, with them winning three on the bounce. The side’s unmatched hitting ability, as always, has proved to be their biggest strength, but it will definitely be put to test in their encounter versus India on Friday. That they lost their previous H2H encounter against the Men in Blue would also definitely be playing on the minds of the Three Lions.

England, too, will head into their match-up against India high on confidence, after having downed a listless Pakistan side on Thursday. After restricting the Men in Green for a paltry 119, the Three Lions chased down the target for the loss of just four wickets.

Jonny Bairstow: With two fifties in the last four games, Jonny Bairstow has been in red hot form for the Three Lions and his fearless batting has proved to be the single biggest reason for England’s immaculate run. Aside from the fact that he scored a fifty in his previous encounter against Pakistan, Bairstow notched up the highest individual score across the two teams, 77, in their last H2H clash and hence the right-hander would be itching to once again get his hands on the Indian bowlers.

Jofra Archer: If India have an able weapon in the form of Bumrah, then England, arguably, have a bigger threat in the form of Jofra Archer. The lanky quick has astonishingly claimed ten wickets in his last three games and is coming on the back of a match-winning four-wicket haul against another sub-continent side, Pakistan. Like Bairstow, Archer’s form, too, has been integral to England’s winning run and the right-armer’s new-ball battle against Indian top-order batsmen could very well end up deciding the outcome of this match.

Predicted XIs