India looking to bounce back to winning ways after a rare T20I defeat.

England secured a morale-boosting first win in the five-match series to keep it alive as the players head to Pune for the fourth T20I.

England and India have faced each other once before at the venue, the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, but that was a very long time ago. In 2012, their only previous meeting at the ground was Yuvraj Singh who delivered a man-of-the-match performance with three for 19 in four overs and an inning-high score of 38 as India ran out five-wicket winners.

Overall, India’s record in Pune is not great. They have only played there four times, but with two wins and two losses, the ground is anything but a fortress.

In each of the four previous T20I games played at the venue, the team that has won the toss has elected to field first. There is no reason to suspect it will be any different on Friday.

India v England | 4th T20I | Friday 31 January 2025 | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune | 15:30

India

It’s no surprise that India’s leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy has shot up 25 places to fifth on the ICC bowler rankings after his incredible return of five for 24 at Rajkot. Still a relative newcomer to T20I cricket, he has played just 16 games, but 29 wickets at an average of 14.75 is quite incredible haul.

India has been in great form recently. Since they won the T20 World Cup last June they have managed 15 wins and three losses in 18 T20Is. They are a confident side, but they may be worried by their recent change of fortune. In the series opener in Kolkata, they beat England convincingly/ The second game was close while, England secured the win in game three. In short, India has gone from dominating to dominating in the space of three games.

A significant thing happened in the third T20I in Rajkot – India opted to rest Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami returned to the side for the first time in 14 months. He didn’t take any wickets, but he didn’t break down and he didn’t show any signs of discomfort. Although Shami’s career has been beset by injury he is a quality player who can bowl at pace and get useful seam movement. The Rajkot wicket wasn’t exactly a seamer’s delight but the fact that Shami is back should come as a big boost to the home side.

Tilak Varma may have been dismissed (finally), in the third T20I, but he is still averaging 55.76 per knock at a strike rate of 155.24. It’s no surprise that he is the second-ranked T20I batsman in the world at the moment. The chances of him top-scoring in Pune are high.

England

England’s win in the third game of the series came off the back of some fantastic batting from Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone. Promoted to open for the series Duckett failed in the first two games but his 51 from 28 balls in the third game lent the innings momentum and allowed England to dictate terms for the first time all series. His clean hitting at the top of the order in turn allowed Jos Buttler (24 from 22) and Livingstone (43 from 24) to play with greater freedom.

Adil Rashid was outstanding for England in Rajkot. His flight, pace variations, and mix of spin had the Indian batsmen all at sea. Rashid returned figures of 4-0-15-1, but the wicket he got was that of Tilak.

Varma – a man who came into the game having scored 318 runs since his last dismissal in T20Is. Rashid beat him through the air and off the pitch as he bowled him for 18. It wasn’t just the wicket though that spoke volumes about his performance it was the fact that from overs eight to 14 (when Rashid was bowling from one end), India scored just 28 runs, and the pressure ratcheted up.

Rashid is back to the number one position in the ICC ODI bowler rankings. A measure of how strong the England attack is, Jofra Archer is up 13 places to sixth after his two for 33 in Rajkot. But it is Rashid who is the key, with Jos Buttler describing him as their most important player when he addressed the media after the Rajkot game.

Verdict: India

Expect India to bounce back and secure the series on Friday. The wicket is likely to suit the spinners, and even though England has Rashid, India has greater depth in the spin department with the likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Ravi Bishnoi all in good form.