India will have the psychological edge going into the series decider, to be played at the Narendra Modi stadium later today.
On the other end, England would be ruing the missing opportunity to go 3-1 up in the series as they had the match within control.
Though England have a formidable record in this format, they have a few issues to sort out.
Though their openers Jos Buttler and Jason Roy have been firing, the middle order hasn’t been performing to full potential.
Dawid Malan and skipper, Eoin Morgan need to contribute or else, there is a risk of the team getting unsettled in a year when the World Cup is to be held.
Knowing Morgan’s track record, he is a big match performer and this is the perfect platform for him to make a statement.
However, there are reassuring signs that Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow have found their touch and England will be hoping from a big one, from one of the two.
Also, their primary pace bowling options, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have been firing on all cylinders and England will expect them to get some early breakthroughs, yet again.
India will have their tails up after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in the last game.
They have been further buoyed by the emergence of two swash-buckling batsmen, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.
Yadav, especially, looks like the finished article and as his first ball six off Jofra Archer demonstrated, has the ability to get going from the outset.
Even skipper Virat Kohli was impressed. He said – “It’s not easy to walk in at three in your first game and we all were stunned. He stamped his authority and allowed the likes of Shreyas, Hardik and Pant to do their job.”
Another big plus for India in the series has been Hardik Pandya’s performance with the ball. In the last match, he made a telling contribution giving away just 16 runs in his four overs and taking two wickets.
Even in the spin department, India has good options in Rahul Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar.
Also, Rohit Sharma is due for a big score and with skipper Kohli in good nick, India can approach the game with confidence.
India were also able to neutralise the dew factor.
It was the first time in the series that the team batting first went on to the win the game, which makes the toss, less of a factor in the final outcome.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Tewatia, Ishan Kishan.
England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Joss Buttler, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer.
