India vs England – 4th T20 International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is India vs England taking place? Thursday, March 18th, 2021 – 13:30 (UK)
Where is India vs England taking place? Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
What is the expected weather for India vs England? 39c with hot temperatures forecast
What channel is India vs England on? The match will be televised live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404)
Where can I stream India vs England? The match can be streamed live the SkyGo app
LAST MEETING
England beat India by 8 wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
INDIA
- India were frustrated to lose the toss in game three of this five-match series which ultimately led to another one-sided defeat for the team batting first but either way they will be looking to improve with the bat at the top of the order regardless of the coin toss.
- KL Rahul struggled once again and it backfired dropping Ishan Kishan to number three but he should return to open alongside Rohit Sharma with KL Rahul expected to drop out and Suryakumar Yadav expected to come back into the middle order.
- Those are likely to be the only tweaks to the line-up as the bowling unit will probably remain the same unless they decide to rotate their pace bowlers with Deepak Chahar and Thangarasu Natarajan waiting in the wings.
ENGLAND
- Just as the hosts did in game two of this series, England bounced back in style in the third match following a mauling by handily beating India last time out so they will be motivated to seal the series at the first attempt of asking here.
- Winning the coin toss certainly gave a boost to Eoin Morgan’s men and they will be aiming to chase once again but if they are put into bat, Morgan will want a better and bolder performance from his batsmen to put 180+ on the board.
- The fitness of their bowlers will be under review and the pacemen is where there may be rotations with Tom Curran on standby in case they do decide to rest Mark Wood who has had an injury concern over the last week.
THE PREDICTION
This bizarre series between the top two T20 teams in the world continues to play out with England leading 2-1 but having all three games being incredibly one-sided. There is a clear advantage to the side chasing and unless one of the teams can really make a strong start when batting first, that will likely continue. There almost seems to be a psychological issue among both teams and resignation when batting first, with the hosts especially struggling at the top of the order. Of either side, it is England who look the more capable of posting a big enough total to defend but ultimately, it is hard to go against either team batting second. There are marginally more factors in England’s favour based on form and the lack of fans in the stadium, but the preference still has to go to the team batting second.
