India vs England, India vs England 2021, Today Match Prediction 20 Mar 2021

ind vs eng Match Prediction & Analysis

The ongoing 5-match T20I series between India and England has been going on like a boxing match. One team lands a definitive punch at first but the other one comes back strongly to strike an even harder punch. After England won two of the first 3 matches, Team India bounced back to register a fine victory in the 4th T20I of the series to square things up. The victory was achieved courtesy of a sensational fifty by Suryakumar Yadav and a top bowling effort even as dew came on. The two teams will now head to the 5th and final T20I to play the decider which should be one hell of a game.
 

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Preview

Team India pulled off a terrific win in the 4th T20I to square the series and set up a salivating decider for Saturday night. On being asked to bat first on a sticky wicket, India, led by Suryakumar Yadav’s scintillating 57 off 31 balls. It was the batsman’s first innings and his effort helped India take the initiative away from England after they had been reduced to 70-3 in the 9th over. Shreyas Iyer’s came (37 off 18 balls) also gave the innings the much-needed push to eventually post 185-8.

India’s bowlers then put up a wonderful show even as dew set in and it became hard to grip the ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar began brilliantly but it was Shardul Thakur’s two scalps in the 17th over, where he took out Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan, that turned the game in India’s favor. India will also be delighted that all-rounder Hardik Pandya (2-16 in 4 overs) bowled his heart out and excelled as the 5th bowling option.

The only concern for the team now is KL Rahul’s continued run of poor scores and they might bring in Ishan Kishan, if fit, in place of the opener in the last match.

India Predicted Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul/ Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal

India Actual Playing XI:

Rahul Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Shreyas Iyer, SA Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, SN Thakur

England Preview

England should have won the 4th T20I with ease when they were 131-3 in the 15th over. But a mini-collapse took the game away from them. However, they would still be happy that Ben Stokes (46 off 23 balls) got some crucial runs under his belt, and opener Jason Roy (40 off 27 balls) continued to shine. However, Dawid Malan’s poor run of scores will be a concern and they would hope he makes an impact in the final game. Because, otherwise, England’s batting unit is near-perfect.

England’s bowling too has been mighty impressive. Jofra Archer’s spell of 4-33 was the highlight for them while Mark Wood excelled again with his pace and bounce and Stokes was canny. Chris Jordan has been on the expensive side but he’s still crucial in the death overs. The team has a settled bowling unit and now knows how to utilize the surface perfectly. India will again have to be at their best to conquer them.
 

England Predicted Playing XI:

Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

England Actual Playing XI:

Chris Jordan, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Mark Wood, AU Rashid, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch used for the 4th T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, was the best one of the series so far. It was very good for batting early on and also gave a chance for the seam bowlers to extract some bounce and movement. Spinners also found some purchase from the track initially but struggled as dew came in. That is likely to be the case in the next game too.

The weather at Ahmedabad will continue to remain warm and clear with the night temperature to be around 24° C.
 

Venue Details

The big question on everyone’s mind in the 5th T20I will be what would be a good target after batting first. As we saw in the last match, bowling became really tough during the second innings as dew set in and the ball began skidding off the surface. It would require immense skill to bowl under such circumstances and hence the team batting first would look to set a target of 180-190 runs to feel comfortable. 

Toss: To Bowl

Even though India won the last game after batting first, the team winning the toss is likely to chase. Dew will become a major factor and bowling second will not be easy at all.