Ind vs Eng 4th T20 Match Highlights: India win match by 15 runs, series 3-1

Rinku Singh has cleared his intentions as he is trying to keep the scorecard ticking. After the powerplay over, India are 47/3 in 6 overs.

Rinku Singh is also trying to show some aggression as the lefthander hit two back-to-back boundaries off Brydon Carse’s over. India 37/3 in the first 5 overs

All eyes are on Abhishek Sharma now. With three down, India will rely on Sharma’s fine form. Rinku will also have to show his mettle today.

The story of the second over goes like this- W W 0 0 0 W- Triple wicket maiden!

From 12/0 in first over to 12/3 in the second, India have lost three quick wickets. Saqib Mahmood got Sanju Samson, Tilak Verma and Suryakumar one after another. India in deep trouble.

Sanju Samson so far in the series:
4 innings
23 balls
19 runs
4 dismissals
Avg 4.75
SR 82.60

India lost momentum quite early as Sanju Samson and Tilak Verma left too early. Saqib Mahmood clinched two wickets off two balls. Samson and Verma got out for ducks. INDIA 12/2

Jofra Archer tried to start off the English campaign with a tight over but Abhishek Sharma’s two boundaries made things different. Sharma hit 6 and 4 off last two balls. India 12/0 in first over

Fasten your seatbelts as the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma is all set to show some fireworks here at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Abhishek is in great form. Jofra Archer is opening the English bowling attack.

India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy

England (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood

“It is all about coming here and playing good brand of cricket. Stick to the basics. We have left that game in Rajkot. Hopefully we put up an entertaining show for this crowd. Little bit on the drier, put runs on the board and defend. Arshdeep comes in place of Shami, Rinku comes in for Jurel and we have had some firepower – Shivam Dube comes in for Washington Sundar.”

“We are gonna bowl first this evening. It feels like a great atmosphere already, the series is nicely set-up. Very happy with that performance, we have areas to improve but happy to get the win. Little bit unsure to be the honest with the dew, if it will come in or not. We have two changes – Mahmood for Wood, Bethell for Smith.”

England skipper Jose Buttler won the toss and elected to bowl first at Pune.

The series stands at 2-1, with England bouncing back after losing the first two matches to keep their hopes alive. Despite the expectation of high-scoring games from two aggressive batting line-ups, the contests have been quite the opposite. Bowlers, particularly spinners, have taken control throughout the series. Will that trend continue today, or will we finally see a shift in momentum?

India predicted XI

Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Washington Sundar/Dhruv Jurel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy.

England predicted XI

Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook (vc), Phil Salt (wk), Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.

According to Accuweather.com, temperatures reached the mid-30s Celsius on Friday afternoon, but are expected to drop below 30°C by the evening. With no rain in the forecast, the match is set to proceed without any weather-related disruptions.

The pitch in Pune, once known as a spin-friendly surface, has gradually shifted to offer more assistance to fast bowlers. In recent years, the venue has also seen several high-scoring games, with totals in the 190-200 range. India’s track record at this ground has been mixed, with two wins and two losses over the years.

Mohammed Shami needs a lot of bowling in match situations and the Rajkot game was a decent restart to his international career without being spectacular.

While a bilateral series win counts for little, Gambhir wouldn’t like the ignominy of being the first coach under whom India lost a home T20I series against England.

Hence, it would be interesting if Arshdeep Singh, India’s best T20I bowler in absence of Jasprit Bumrah is in line to come back and give some breakthroughs in the Powerplay overs.

Samson, the maverick keeper-batter from Kerala, whose sympathetic and loyal fan base never fails to remind everyone of the limited chances he has got, started the T20I season with three hundreds against Bangladesh and South Africa prior to the ongoing series.

In the current rubber, he has had scores of 26, 5 and 3 and it is not these numbers that are concerning. In T20 cricket, if one factors in risk, there would always be lot of less profitable days at the office considering the kind of strokes batters play these days.

But in case of Samson, what is of concern is his palpable discomfort against anything bowled above 145 clicks.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s philosophy of having at least eight batters in T20 cricket is sacrosanct and it is unlikely to change any time in near future, indicated his trusted lieutenant Ten Doeschate. “You could argue that we don’t want Dhruv Jurel batting at number 8. But I also think if you look at the blueprint of any of Gambhir’s teams that he has coached since he’s been coaching T20 cricket, it is a big part of how he likes to set up,” Ten Doeschate said, explaining the rationale behind the strategy.

Attempting some cheeky and audacious shots, a fit-again Rinku Singh was in full flow during an extended net session ahead of the fourth T20 International against England on Friday. Rinku was rested from the second and third game of the series due to back spasms and India‘s assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate confirmed that the Aligarh dasher is good to go on Friday.

The Men in Blue are looking to bounce back in the series after a loss in the third T20I. England stunned India with a 26-run victory in Rajkot, keeping the series alive. With the series tied at 2-1, both teams will be looking to gain an upper hand in this crucial encounter.

Stay tuned for live updates on the match, player performances, and key moments as India and England face off in this exciting T20I battle!