The India vs England one-day international series almost felt like a T20 one, what with all the sixes and ridiculous runs being scored at outstanding run rates. However, the real shortest form fun begins from Thursday when India and England go slam-bang again.
India vs England ODI series stats
Virat Kohli might have clinched his first ODI series win as permanent captain, after India beat England 2-1, but the manner in which the away side played in that remarkable series suggests the three T20s that are coming up are going to be close, closer and then some more after that.
Considering the batting might of both sides, this promises to be another crackerjack of a series, one which should see huge first innings scored being put up and chased down (or almost at least).
India go into this series with a young(ish) squad, while England pretty much have the same makeup to their team from the ODI series.
England will take confidence from their win in Kolkata in the third ODI, when they defended a total of 321 on a track that had something in it for the pace bowlers.
England were competitive in all three matches of the ODI series, and with that power-packed batting lineup of theirs, they will cause a few problems for Kohli and his bowlers.
Bowling, you feel, sometimes becomes irrelevant in modern-day limited-overs cricket – despite it being a greenish, seaming and swinging track in Kolkata, the two teams still put up a combined 637 runs – and that is a feeling the men who will have that white ball in their hands will want to change.
The tracks are expected to be nice and flat again, but with the blink-and-you-miss-a-big-hit nature of the format, the bowlers will also expect to get a few in the wickets column.
While you want to see big runs being scored, you do not want to see scores of 225, 232 and 240, because then it ceases being a contest and turns into an "Ok, I've hit sixes and fours at will, now it's your turn."
A match that has a score of around 160-170 can be just as much, if not more, fun as a really high-scoring one and, hopefully, that is what we will get to see in this T20 series – a proper contest between bat and ball, with the bat, eventually, edging it.
India vs England T20I series schedule:
1st T20:
Date: Thursday, January 26.
Time: 4.30pm IST (11am GMT, 6am ET).
Venue: Green Park Stadium, Kanpur.
2nd T20:
Date: Sunday, January 29.
Time: 7pm IST (1.30pm GMT, 8.30am ET).
Venue: VCA Stadium, Nagpur.
3rd T20:
Date: Wednesday, February 1.
Time: 7pm IST (1.30pm GMT, 8.30am ET).
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
TV Guide:
India: Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports HD3, Star Sports 3. UK: Sky Sports 2. USA and Canada: Willow TV. New Zealand: Sky Sport. Australia: Fox Sports. Middle East: OSN Sports Cricket HD. South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport.
