Final dress rehearsal for India and England before the T20 World Cup

If there was a battle between the top two T20I teams in the world, there could not have been a better setting than a Saturday evening to decide its fate. After four games of the teams trading punch for punch, there is still no saying which of the two are the clear favourites heading into the last game, which adds to the excitement of a Saturday evening thriller in store.

Team India reversed the win-the-toss-win-the-match trend, putting past them the soapy ball and the powerplay struggles. While with the ball, it was the three quicks in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya who applied the brakes on the English batting, a much bigger positive to come out of the game would be the performance of Suryakumar Yadav. 

The Mumbai lad who walked out to bat for the first time in the blue of India, Jofra Archer steaming in, a short ball aimed at the body, for him to pull it away for a six was just the kind of stuff Virat Kohli would’ve envisioned under his “New India” mould. While the middle overs batting has been a worry over the past couple of years for India, Suryakumar Yadav seems to be an instant fix. Batting at number 3, he would also accommodate Virat Kohli to pace his innings from a “Corolla to a Ferrari” as Dinesh Karthik would say.

For England, while their top order has been a constant source of joy, either of Buttler or Roy firing every game, their middle order’s lack of game time and the ensuing rustiness came to the fore in the fourth T20I. With 4 overs to go, 46 to win and a set Ben Stokes striking at over 200 with Captain Morgan batting at the other end, England would well have fancied sealing the series. But, back to back wickets and just 23 runs off the next 3 overs left too much to do for the final over. While Jofra Archer and Mark Wood have been a threat throughout the four games, England would seek at least one more performer who could put their hand up in the final T20I.

If the series were to be seen as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup which has just risen above the horizon and shining its gentle light on the teams hoping to stake a claim later this year, the finale could not have been set up any better for India and England. The lopsided first three games made way for a much closer fourth T20I, and the final game should be no different given the quality on display. The challenging conditions would be viewed much more as a perfect preparation rather than a hindrance given the longer-term gains of World Cup preparation at stake. A mouth-watering Saturday evening beckons!