India became the first of these two sides to successfully defend a total in the fourth match of the series to set up a decider.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
It was the third time India were asked to defend a score but the first occasion where they put more than 180 runs on the board.
India vs England | Saturday 20 March | Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad | 15:30
To Win Match
India 82/100
Tie 25/1
England 21/20
India
India showed greater match awareness in their third effort at setting a target and also used most of their batting resources to reach a decent score.
Another young player came to the fore during the fourth match, with Suryakumar Yadav showing the tourists what he could do with a quick-fire 57.
Virat Kohli was again undone by Adil Rashid in the penultimate and their next head to head cold prove to be crucial to the outcome of the series.
Apart from Hardik Pandya, India struggled to contain England on the massive ground but were able to pick up wickets often enough to throw Eoin Morgan’s side off the chase.
England
England probably needed more composure to get them over the line in their stiffest chase of the series, but will take plenty of learnings from the match.
The tourists should also be delighted at the apparent return to form of Ben Stokes, who plundered 46 off 23 balls and appeared to be powering his team to a series win until Shardul Thakur intervened.
England have shown a willingness to be fluid with their batting order but may have got their assessment wrong with skipper Eoin Morgan pushed down to six.
Their frontline bowling trio of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Rashid would ensure most sides in the world were competitive in the T20I arena.
Verdict: India 82/100
India should have this pressure game in the bag.
