4th T20I, Pune: England eye second successive win over India
What's the story
The fourth T20I between India and England will be played at the iconic Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, on January 31.
The match is of utmost importance for both sides, with India looking to bounce back from the Rajkot defeat and seal the series. Meanwhile, England look to continue their winning run.
It will be interesting to see if India bring back Arshdeep Singh.
Details
Pitch report and weather conditions
The MCA Stadium in Pune has hosted four T20Is so far. The pitch here is famous for its spin-friendly tracks but aids batters too.
Meanwhile, pacers garner enough movement and bounce off the pitch early on. The average first-innings score in T20Is in Pune is 166.
The weather during the match hours is likely to be clear, with temperatures hovering around 18 degrees celcius.
Information
Where to watch?
The Star Sports Network will broadcast the 4th T20I live, while live-streaming is available on the Disney+ Hotstar app. The match begins at 7:00pm IST, with the toss taking place 30 minutes prior to the start.
Record
Here's the head-to-head record
Before the ongoing series, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side crushed England, in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup semi-final.
However, England had earlier defeated India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final by 10 wickets.
Overall, India have a slender lead over England in T20I encounters (15-12). On Indian soil, the hosts have eight wins and six defeats against the Brits.
India
Will India go in with two specialist pacers?
Star pacer Mohammed Shami made his much-awaited international comeback in Rajkot. However, he came in at the expense of Arshdeep Singh, who was rested.
The batting position of Dhruv Jurel (number eight) was also under the scanner as India couldn't chase down 172.
Either Jurel or Washington Sundar could make way for Arshdeep, India's wicket-taker, in the upcoming encounter.
Probable XIs
England expected to retain their winning combination
India (Probable XI): Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, and Varun Chakravarthy.
England (Probable XI): Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (captain), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.
Milestone
Arshdeep eyes 100-wicket mark
India's star left-arm seamer Arhsdeep is two shy of completing 100 wickets in T20I cricket. He is set to become the first-ever Indian with the 100-wicket mark.
If Arshdeep does so in the next game, he would become the joint third-fastest to this mark with Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga (63).
Arshdeep has taken 98 wickets in 62 T20Is so far.