MS Dhoni, India, England, 1st T20, Republic Day
Reuters

The final series of the long tour is upon us with India looking to dominate England another time, starting with the 1st T20 in Kanpur on Republic Day Thursday.

India vs England 1st T20 live score and blog

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Virat Kohli's men have been the better team in the Test matches and ODIs so far and they will fancy their chances in the shortest format of the game as well, even if T20 cricket is always the toughest one to call.

England, after all, have all the firepower necessary to hurt India and the last time they played T20 cricket on these shores, they were one over away from being crowned the World T20 champions.

While most formats are about the batsmen now, T20s are geared for the men with that willow in their hands and both teams have players capable of sending the crowd into a frenzy.

So, expect plenty of sixes, fours and cannot-take-your-eyes-off-it excitement.

With this being India's last three matches in any limited-overs format before the ICC Champions Trophy, it is an important one for Kohli and co. to help gauge and fix up any of the missing pieces in the team lineup ahead of the important tournament in England in June.

There are quite a few youngsters in the squad looking to make an impression, chief of them being Rishabh Pant, and if these younger players can grab this opportunity, they might just lock up a seat in the flight to England for the Champions Trophy.

England will take this series as a chance to salvage some pride. Having picked up their first win on tour in the third ODI, Eoin Morgan and his side will be confident they can beat this India team as long as they execute their plans correctly, especially in their bowling.

That has been their problem so far – the bowlers just haven't been consistent enough in white ball cricket, and Morgan needs them to perform better against this powerful India side.

Kohli, as he always does, will want to win every game he plays in, but the captain will also know this is a good avenue to identify future international cricketers, be that Pant, Mandeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal or Parvez Rasool.

A few of them have had their opportunities in the past, but not against such strong opposition as England. So, how they stack up against one of the better white ball teams in the world will be interesting to see.

This series is also another opportunity for Yuvraj Singh to get that bat talking again before the Champions Trophy and for MS Dhoni to feel more comfortable in his wicketkeeping-batting role. The two, you feel, will be key players in India defence of their CT title, and the more chances they get out in the middle, the better it will be for India, even if they are playing a different format.

Where to Watch Live

India vs England 1st T20I is scheduled for a 4.30pm IST (11am GMT, 6am ET) start.

Live Streaming and TV information

India: TV: Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3. Live Streaming: Hotstar.

UK: TV: Sky Sports 2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.

New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport 1. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.

Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket. Live Streaming: OSN Cricket Live.

USA and Canada: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.

South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport 5. Live Streaming: SuperSport Online.

Australia: TV: Fox Sports 3. Live Streaming: Foxtel.