India vs England: Rinku, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep come in as England make India bat first

The coin fell in the favour of English skipper Jos Buttler in the fourth T20I. After winning the toss for the first time in the five-match series, Buttler decided to field first at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) at Pune on January 31 (Friday). 

Both sides made a few changes. India, as expected, made three with Mohammed Shami making way for Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube replacing Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel making way for Rinku Singh returns to the side. 

Meanwhile, England made two changes as well by bringing in Saqib Mahmood for Mark Wood and Jacob Bethell for Jamie Smith. 

India are ahead in the five T20I bilateral series against England by 2-1. However, not all has been smooth in the Indian team’s plans and their execution on the field. 

England have gone with a pace-heavy strategy in the series and loaded their bowling attack with pacers who can bowl at express speed. They further shored up their attack by bringing in Mahmood for Wood, who has blown a bit hot and cold this series. 

India have taken the opposite path and have gone with three or more spinners and just one specialist pacer in their bowling lineup once again. Shivam Dube does give them the option of a third pacer if they wish to use him. 

While the results in the first and second T20I went in India’s favour, they felt the lack of a second pacer in the third T20I, especially when Adil Rashid and Mark Wood added more than 20 runs with the bat. Meanwhile, Liam Livingstone was also allowed to bat at his tempo for a long period. At the end, India lost the game by 26 runs. 

That issue in the Indian team will be a hotspot again as India look to seal the series today and England tries to force a decider. 

Playing XI

England (Playing XI) - Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (WK), Jos Buttler (C), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell (In for Jamie Smith), Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood (In for Mark Wood).

India (Playing XI) - Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh (In for Dhruv Jurel), Shivam Dube (In for Washington Sundar), Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh (In for Mohammed Shami), Varun Chakravarthy.

Pitch report 

Nick Knight and Murali Karthik did the pitch report. Karthik pointed out that a strong breeze is blowing across the ground, which could have an impact on bowlers and batters alike. The square boundaries are around 65 and 64 meters, while the straight hit measures 75 meters. 

Knight added that the surface consists of 60 per cent red soil and 40 per cent black soil, which means there will be good carry and bounce, suiting England’s pacers. The presence of dead grass, which has been rolled in, suggests that the pitch is pretty dry with some cracks. He expects pace-on deliveries to travel well, but there is something in it for both pacers and spinners, especially for those who take the pace off the ball.

Captains speak

Suryakumar Yadav: It is all about coming here and playing a good brand of cricket. Stick to the basics. We have left that game in Rajkot. Hopefully, we put up an entertaining show for this crowd. A little bit on the drier, put runs on the board and defend. Arshdeep comes in place of Shami, Rinku comes in for Jurel and we have had some firepower - Shivam Dube comes in for Washington Sundar.

Jos Buttler: We are going to bowl first this evening. It feels like a great atmosphere already, and the series is nicely set up. I am very happy with that performance. We have areas to improve, but I am happy to get the win. I am a little bit unsure (about what total to chase) to be honest with the dew, if it will come in or not. We have two changes—Mahmood for Wood, Bethell for Smith.