India vs England 2021, 4th T20I – Preview: Hosts seek comeback in a must-win game to stay alive in the series

Table of Contents

Pitch report
Playing Combination
Telecast and live streaming details

India is set to face England in the fourth T20I of the five-match series at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (March 18). The Virat Kohli and Co. would aim to register a triumph in the must-win contest to stay alive in the series as England are ahead with 2-1 after winning the previous fixture.

The trend of win the toss and bowl have been successful so far in this five-match leg. However, the Indian skipper has repeatedly said that they need to perform well irrespective of whether they bat first or chase, as it is part of their preparation for the T20 World Cup later this year.

On the other hand, the visitors would be hoping to replicate what they did in the third T20I to seal the series comfortably.

Pitch report:

The pitch has played its part in the series, with batsmen from both teams struggling to dominate in order to set massive totals. Spinners, as well as pacers, have had their impact and are expected to carry on in the remaining two fixtures. The decision to chase has been successful for both sides and might get followed again in the fourth match.

Playing Combination:

India

The bad patch of KL Rahul has become the ‘talk of the town’, with many fans and experts suggesting to drop him in the final XI. However, captain Kohli had made it clear that the Karnataka batsman will continue to open the innings with Rohit Sharma.

“If you look at his (KL Rahul) stats in the last 2-3 years, they are probably better than anyone in T20. He will continue to be one of our main batters, along with Rohit at the top of the order. We don’t have any concerns there,” Kohli had said after the third game.

Kohli had also hinted that they might draft another all-rounder alongside Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar. In this case, there could be a toss-up between Axar Patel and Rahul Tewatia.

IND XI: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shardul Thakur/Axar Patel/Rahul Tewatia, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar.

England

England have been quite impressive in all the departments in this series, so they are likely to stick to the same team. But if they yet make a change just to try out some new things, then Moeen Ali could replace Sam Curran.

ENG XI: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran/Moeen Ali.