Richard Mann previews England's third T20I with India on Tuesday, when he expects spin to prove key at Trent Bridge.
Cricket tips: England v India T20I
2pts Varun Chakravarthy over 20.5 player performance points at 11/10 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair)
1pt Will Jacks top England bowler at 13/2 (Betfred)
The country is braced for another heatwave, and Nottingham should be pretty hot on Tuesday for the third T20I between England and India.
After the first match in Durham was washed out at the halfway stage, England took the spoils in the second game in Manchester, first fighting back strongly with the ball before Jacob Bethell (76 not out) produced a stunning takedown of India’s bowlers to secure victory for his team.
In truth, India have been a little underwhelming so far. They should’ve made a good deal more than 191 batting first at Old Trafford, and it was a similar story in Durham.
Abhishek Sharma has fired at the top of the order, while 15-year-old young gun Vaibhav Sooryavanshi showed glimpses of his potential on his senior international debut at the weekend, but it does feel like Shreyas Iyer has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders at number four.
We shouldn’t write India off. They are T20 world champions after all, but England will rightly feel they can compete with them on their home patch.
One of the most interesting factors from a tactical point of view is just how many left-handers India have opted to field in their line-up so far. In Manchester, they had six southpaws in their top seven.
This does present its challenges to England’s spinners, especially left-arm finger spinner Liam Dawson, and even leg spinner Adil Rashid, for all he possesses a potent googly to use against the lefties.
However, England captain Harry Brook has used part-time off-spinner WILL JACKS plenty in the two games already, bowling him six out of a possible eight overs, and he dismissed Sooryavanshi with a beautiful piece of bowling to cap a solid display in Manchester.
Jacks continues to go under the radar, but he is a very good cricketer whose bowling is improving and whose batting should at least put him in the conversation to replace Ben Stokes’ in the Test team as the designated all-rounder. It would certainly allow England to pick four seamers and do away with a ‘frontline’ spinner in home condtions.
I digress, but Jacks is no mug with the ball, and with no player performance quotes available for the Surrey man at the time of writing, or indeed any wickets lines, I’ll chance WILL JACKS TO BE TOP ENGLAND BOWLER at 13/2 (Betfred). A further note, Betfred settle this market on dead-heat rules, where many other firms now do not.
I do expect spin to have a big say again, especially given the pitches at Trent Bridge have offered more turn in the last couple of years than we are used to seeing on a ground that was once renowned for big runs in white-ball cricket.
Will Jacks brings Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's debut innings to an end! ❌ pic.twitter.com/SfhqyFISad
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 4, 2026
The small square boundaries and rapid outfield mean high scores remain very possible, and it’s not like the pitches have suddenly become minefields, but 20-over scores do appear to be coming down, and Nottinghamshire defended 181 here against Lancashire in the Blast on Friday night.
That match was a real eye-opener, with part-timer Liam Livingstone taking the new ball for Lancashire and finding appreciable spin from the outset, yet any width was punished with very little margin for error.
It was the same in the second innings, with Liam Patterson-White, another finger spinner, the pick of the home bowlers. Moreover, the wicket used on Friday was by no means situated in the centre of the square, and expect things to be different for this international fixture.
As such, spin could prove king for both teams, more so given the hot weather, so giving another chance to VARAN CHAKRAVARTHY makes sense, and the Indian twirler looks a solid wager to cover his PLAYER PERFORMANCE LINE of 20.5.
Varun is currently averaging two wickets per game against England, with 16 from eight matches at an average of 14.9. He took a catch in Manchester, too – always handy when playing this market as it yields 10 points.
As such, Varun’s current line doesn’t appear an overly big ask.
Posted at 20:10 BST on 05/07/26
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