With Team India bouncing back in style, questions remain over whether England will return home for Christmas on a winning note or if the hosts will salvage some pride with a face-saving series win.
The two teams meet in the second and last T20 on Saturday in Mumbai.
India outplayed their rivals to win the first match by five wickets.
The win was largely to Yuvraj Singh’s credit whose all-round performance made it look easy in the end. For England, a change in personnel brought about a change in the end result as well.
England would be disappointed at not having been able to defend a sizable total of 157. The bowling does look like their weaker link and, although Tim Bresnan picked up two wickets, all the bowlers need to lift their game.
Jade Dernbach had a poor outing and could be replaced if the team management is looking at changes. Danny Briggs’ lone over went for 18 runs.
With the bat, Alex Hales outshone the rest though there were valuable contributions from Luke Wright and Jos Buttler.
They have plenty of options and variety in the batting department despite the absence of Jonny Bairstow who has had to fly home due to family reasons.
India could not have dreamt of a better comeback to the test series beating that they took.
MS Dhoni was finally seen breathing easy as his side put in a thoroughly professional display. Yuvraj Singh’s three wickets followed by 38 runs off just 21 balls made him the obvious Man of the Match choice.
While the team won, there will be expectations from the young players in the team who need to step up and take the opportunity. An overall unchanged side would not be surprising despite Parvinder Awana’s expensive two overs.
The match will be played in Mumbai starting at 7.00pm local time.