England will play an experimental team against India and that could lead to a chance for the visitors to spring an upset at Old Trafford.
England
The home side could give Twenty20 debuts to Alex Hales, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. Hales, an elegant opener, has long been earmarked for international recognition. Buttler is a biffer who has impressed for Somerset while Stokes is a stocky allrounder from Durham.
The side will be led by Stuart Broad. In terms of a captain match bet against MS Dhoni, it is no contest. We should expect some odd decisions from Broad, who has an awful lot to learn.
India
There is no Virender Sehwag or Ishant Sharma for India but Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are available. Praveen Kumar and RP Singh could form a handy new-ball attack.
Venue and conditions
Old Trafford has a reputation for pace and bounce, qualities which are unlikely to bring the best out of the India batsman. However, whether 20 overs is long enough for that to make a significant impact is debatable.
The average first-innings score in the eight Twenty20 matches played at the venue in county cricket this summer is 139. The highest score was 188 and the lowest 81. There was an even toss split for the eight games.
There have been two Twenty20 internationals played there. In 2008 New Zealand could manage only 123 and were beaten by nine wickets against England. Ian Bell hit 60 not out. Two years ago Australia made 145 before rain ruined the occasion.
Speaking of rain, none is forecast which is a rarity for Manchester. The game should begin under the sun although cloud will roll over in time for the second innings.
Match odds
This is only the third time these sides have met in T20s and it is no surprise that England have been made favourites at 1.72 on
betfair. They remain the world champions and, of course, the dreadful form of the tourists this summer cannot be ignored.
Still, England have lost their last two matches since lifting the world crown and a case can be made for India, who are priced at 2.36. Their batting looks to be stronger than England's and the inexperience of skipper Broad could be a major factor.
If it does come down to a straight shootout with the willow - the vagaries of the Old Trafford pitch could suggest otherwise - India would be the bet. At the very least they represent the best trading option, particularly if they can get at England's debutants early.
Top England batsman
Eoin Morgan is by far and away England's top performer in T20s. In the last two years he has scored 514 runs at more than 50, a hugely impressive record. Kevin Pietersen is next best with 449 followed by Craig Kieswetter, who will open the batting, with 248.
We cannot be certain that the wicket will suit Kieswetter, who will need a true surface to get full value for his shots. The same could be said of Hales, who is expected to partner Kieswetter following his call-up from Nottinghamshire. Both will go off at around 5.00 but they do not make as much appeal as Morgan at around 5.50.
Top India batsman
Tendulkar's incluison is a real surprise. It could be an oversight, though as he has played only once in the format and that was five years ago. Suresh Raina is India's superstar in this format. He has outscored his teammates more than twice over. With 392 runs in the last two years, Rohit Sharma is next best with 176. Raina should go off at around 6.00 with Sharma possibly half a point bigger.
India opened with Ajinkya Rahane and Parthiv Patel in their warm-up win over Leicestershire but if Tendulkar does he play, we should expect him to open the batting with Gautam Gambhir. Sharma and Raina batted at Nos 5 and 6 respectively in that game.
Best bet: india to win T20 @ 2.36
betfair
