After a strong win in Rajkot, which helped them keep the five-game T20I series alive, England now have the chance to draw level as they head to Pune to face India for the fourth T20I.
Ahead of the fourth T20I between India and England, here are our match preview and predictions.
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India vs England 4th T20I | England tour of India 2025 | 19:00 IST, January 31
Last time out, the Indian batters failed to back Varun Chakravarthy’s five-wicket haul as they fell to a 26-run defeat, opening the door for an English comeback in the series.
The Indian bowlers were bolstered by the return of Mohammed Shami, and although he wasn’t among the wickets, his comeback bodes well for Indian cricket in general.
With the ball, it was all Varun Chakravarthy, whose five-wicket haul kept England restricted to 171/9. Axar Patel provided some support to him, but Ravi Bishnoi’s expensive outing has raised some concerns, with the leg-spinner having picked up just one wicket in the three games. He also went for over 11 in Rajkot.
With the bat, Sanju Samson’s struggles continued at the top of the order alongside those of Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The explosive Abhishek Sharma failed to capitalise on a quick start as well, and it came down to Hardik Pandya to guide the hosts home, though he ran out of partners in the end as India struggled against the Brits’ pace and spin.
England, meanwhile, were off to a flying start thanks to Ben Duckett and Jos Buttler after yet another failure from Phil Salt. Barring Duckett and the England skipper, only Liam Livingstone got going as the rest of the batters struggled to deal with Chakravarthy.
Moving to Pune, which is generally known for its rank-turners, the visitors will have to tackle spin better if they want to keep themselves alive in the series. That said, moving to Pune will also be ideal for someone like Adil Rashid, especially after his performance in Rajkot. Rashid gave nothing away in his four-over spell last time out, putting in an economic performance to tie up the Indian batters at one end and as they tried to open their arms against the pacers and failed miserably. England will hope for more of the same.
Pune is known to be a turning strip, which means England will have to bat well against the Indian spin quartet, and although they might have taken a win in Rajkot, expect the hosts to seal the series in Pune is what is likely to be a low-scoring game.
Fantasy XI: Abhishek Sharma, Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav, Harry Brook, Tilak Vama, Hardik Pandya, Brydon Carse, Varun Chakravarthy, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer
Venue: Pune
Winners Prediction: England
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