The five-match T20I series between India and England will head to the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune for the penultimate fixture this Friday.
India shot out to a two-match lead with victories in Kolkata and Chennai, but the visitors kept the series alive with an impressive display in Rajkot on Tuesday evening.
Match preview
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The captain and coach duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir have never lost a T20I series since taking charge in July last year, but they will know that major improvement on their last performance will be needed in order to keep that record intact.
After winning the first two games of the series, India were brought back to earth on Tuesday when some dodgy decision-making combined with excellent lower-order hitting from their opponents led to a 26-run loss.
The Men in Blue's performance in the defeat has sparked debate over whether the aggressive approach they have adopted in this series is a strength or liability, with Yadav finding himself at the centre of the criticism.
Indian legend Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the first to question the current skipper's tactics, indicating that there is a very fine line between playing aggressive and reckless cricket, while suggesting that on tougher days, batters need to shift gears as Tilak Varma did in the second T20 in Chennai.
Yadav, who was the world's top-ranked T20 batter not too long ago, was dismissed for 14 runs in the last match attempting a rash scoop shot off Mark Wood, and has managed just 26 runs in three innings in this series.
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Meanwhile, England will arrive in Pune with their tails up after their performance in Rajkot, and if they can emulate that level of play in this match, they could easily force the series to a decider on Sunday.
What was evident in the last match is that the Three Lions were reminded that while blowing opponents away with blistering pace is great, the slow stuff matters too, as Adil Rashid led the team to a series-prolonging victory.
The spinner delivered a masterful spell, conceding no boundaries in his four-over allotment, while picking up the prize wicket of Varma in the eighth over to finish the match with figures of 1/15.
With the bat, Ben Duckett seemingly rediscovered his form at the top of the order, scoring a quick-fire 51 of just 28 balls before Liam Livingstone's power hitting late in the day, which included five maximums en route to 43 of 24 balls, allowed England to post a solid total of 171/9 in the first innings.
The victory was the first in Brendan McCullum's reign as head coach of the limited overs squad, but the former New Zealand great will know that the job is only partially done, as his side needs another huge performance here to keep the series alive heading to Mumbai in a couple of days.
Team News
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Having made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League over the years, Varun Chakravarthy is now enjoying success on the global stage, and he will be hoping to follow up on his Player of the Match performance of 5/24 from the last match on Friday.
However, the Men in Blue will be hoping for a better performance from Mohammed Shami, whose long-awaited return to the national team was underwhelming, as the paceman ended wicketless in the defeat in Rajkot.
Given his side's performance in the last match, it would come as no surprise if McCullum opts to send out an unchanged 11 for the fourth T20I, but he will be looking for more from Phil Salt, who has only contributed nine runs to date in this series.
After falling for a golden duck, Jamie Overton made amends with the ball in hand on Tuesday, picking up 3/24 in his four-over spell, while supporting Rashid in strangling the Indian middle-order, which contributed heavily to the Three Lions' victory.
India squad: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(C), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana
England squad: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(WK), Jos Buttler(C), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith, Rehan Ahmed
Series so far
T20 1 of 5: India won by 7 wickets
England - 132 (20)
India - 133/3 (12.5)
T20 2 of 5: India won by 2 wickets
England - 165/9 (20)
India - 166/8 (19.2)
T20 3 of 5: England won by 26 runs
England - 171/9
India - 145/9 (20)
We say: India to win
While England bounced back well to keep the series alive in game three, we feel that India's underperformance in that match was momentary, and we fancy the Men in Blue to wrap up the series on Friday in Pune.
Devesh Jaganath
