India vs England Match Preview, 4th T20I

India will look to wrap up the five-match series when they take on England in the fourth T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. have a 2-1 lead in the series.

India won the first two T20Is in contrasting styles. The first T20I in Kolkata turned out to be a one-sided affair, as India outclassed the Englishmen in all facets of the game. In the second T20I in Chennai, however, the tourists produced a much better effort as they showed a lot of fight against a dangerous Indian side. Tilak Varma's composed half-century proved to be the difference between the two teams in the end.

The third T20I was a must-win clash for Jos Buttler's men and they managed to get their act together in the nick of time. After setting a 172-run target in Rajkot, England restricted India to 145/9 to get off the mark in the series. The fourth T20I promises to be a mouth-watering clash in the cricket-loving city of Pune.

India's weapon of destruction has been Varun Chakravarthy, who has spun a web around England in all three matches so far. The mystery spinner is the leading wicket-taker in the series, bagging 10 wickets at an average of 8.50, including a five-for in Rajkot. Axar Patel has also given him good support. All eyes will be on Mohammed Shami, who made his much-awaited comeback in the third encounter but went wicketless. The Bengal seamer will want to be among the wickets as it will give him a lot of confidence.

On the batting front, Abhishek Sharma has been India's standout batter. He has played a couple of enterprising knocks at the top of the order. Sanju Samson, however, will want to score some runs after faltering in the first three games. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma has looked in good nick and will look to bat deep in the fourth T20I.

For England, Jos Buttler has looked the best batter by a distance. However, Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone scoring runs in the third T20I will give the English fans a lot of hope. Harry Brook and Phil Salt have looked out of sorts, but with the talent that the two right-handers have, big runs could be on the horizon. The former, however, has looked in a lot of trouble against the Indian spinners.

Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer have bowled well so far for England. Adil Rashid and Jamie Overton also bowled fine spells in Rajkot. The England side will want another strong performance from their bowling department against the formidable Indian batters.

Match Details

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium Pitch Report

So far, the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium has hosted 64 T20 games. The average first innings total is around 162. Teams batting first at this venue have emerged victorious on 35 occasions, while chasing teams have won on 29 instances.

Also Read: 3 Players who could make a big impact for India in today 4th T20I

Also Check: India vs England Stats Preview, 4th T20I

IND vs ENG Predicted Playing 11

India

Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy

England

Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith (wk), Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid