Series on the line as Captain Kohli’s men aim for redemption against upbeat England

England brought the heat in the third T20, their fast bowlers inflicting heavy damage early on that despite a Captain Kohli masterclass, India could barely recover from. With the series on the line, Team India will have to be at their best to upstage an England team full of confidence.

While a firing Virat Kohli is never a bad sign, Team India will hope to get their opening partnership sorted. India have had three different opening pairs across the first three games, and none of them have clicked. Against some serious pace from both ends, the hero of the second T20I, Ishan Kishan also struggled, while the experienced Rohit Sharma found it difficult to middle the ball. The biggest concern for Team India will be KL Rahul's form. The opener from Karnataka has exhibited ring rust, having sat out the entire Test series against England, and with no other domestic cricket under his belt. A grand total of 1 run from 3 games has already called into question his place in the team, but he appears to have the backing of Captain Kohli and the team management. For now at least.

While the highest run-scorer of the previous edition of the IPL in KL Rahul has struggled, the highest wicket-taking spinner of the league season in Yuzvendra Chahal has not had the best three games either. While a batsman in Jason Roy, whose number he had earlier, got the better of him in the first two games, Jos Buttler was particularly severe on the leggier who found it hard to make an impact, going at over 10-an-over when the team needed him to pick wickets. However, his spin bowling partner from RCB, Washington Sundar has been impressive, showing his growing confidence to bowl in the middle overs as well, shedding the tag of being a powerplay bowler. 

For England, turning back to raw pace worked, and they would not want to meddle with the combination. A timely return to form for Jos Buttler will be a positive sign, although their middle-order remains fairly untested. 

The toss has played a crucial role in all the three T20Is thus far, and could once again mean the team winning getting it right will choose to bowl first. A loss for Team India would mean the forfeiture of the series, but this team has shown enough times their ability to battle out of a tight corner. While all the first three games have been one-sided, expect the fourth to be a much tighter affair.