Bristol: India will have no room for error when they take on England in the fourth T20I of the five-match series today (10:00 PM IST). Another defeat today—or in Saturday’s final game—would see Team India suffer consecutive T20I series losses for the first time in eight years. England currently lead the series 2-0 with two matches remaining.
Shreyas Iyer and his team must win at any cost to avoid that unwanted record. The last time India lost back-to-back T20I series was in 2018-19. This time, however, India enter the series as the world’s No. 1 T20I side and the defending world champions. Given those credentials, the young Indian team will be under pressure to restore national pride.
India Enjoy an Excellent Record in Bristol
India have an outstanding record at Bristol, winning all four matches they have played at the venue since 1999, including three ODIs. Their most recent appearance here came in 2018, when they defeated England by seven wickets in a T20I. Although Bristol is regarded as a high-scoring venue, the average first-innings score across the last five matches has been 156.
The defending world champions were beaten 2-0 by Ireland in a T20I series last week. If England also go on to win this series, questions are likely to be raised over Shreyas Iyer’s new captaincy, while head coach Gautam Gambhir could also come under pressure.
The biggest talking point has been India’s decision to leave Sanju Samson out of the playing XI for the last two matches while giving youngster Vaibhav Suryavanshi an opportunity. All eyes will now be on whether India make any changes to the playing XI. The visitors have five reserve players available—Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Suryansh Shedge, Ravi Bishnoi and Prasidh Krishna.
Probable Playing XIs
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi/Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube/Suryansh Shedge, Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.
England: Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
ALSO READ: India Crumble For 76, Suffer Worst Defeat In T20I History With 125-Run Loss To England
-
-
-
-
