The Rajkot pitch that became a tad slower in the second half of the third T20I caused problems for Team India as they lost the game by 26 runs, keeping the series alive. England still trail 1-2, but having eked out a win from a difficult situation the other evening, it does boost their morale and buoy their prospects of levelling the series going into the fourth T20I in Pune on Friday.

Pace is what England have relied on so far in this T20I series, but in all fairness, it was leg-spinner Adil Rashid’s spell and a beauty of a ball to get rid of the in-form Tilak Varma that spun the momentum in England’s favour.

Of course, the visiting quicks took the bulk of the nine Indian wickets that fell in Rajkot on Tuesday, but without Rashid’s bowling figures (1/15 in four overs), the hosts could well have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead. However, another way of looking at it is India’s batting group needs to tighten up a bit, particularly if openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma aren’t able to give the side a flying start.

Ill-directed short and over-pitched deliveries alongside Tilak’s grit had somehow saved India the blushes in the second T20I in Chennai after they were eight down chasing 166. In Rajkot, besides Rashid’s accuracy, the England pacers took a little bit of pace off and India were stifled.

The black soil pitch in Pune for Friday’s game is likely to aid spinners, and it’s tough to say whether India will be too happy about it.
Yes, England are yet to find a way to deal with Varun Chakravarthy, who already has 10 wickets in the series while Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar haven’t leaked runs either.

Bowling-wise thus India needn’t worry much. But, if there’s an extra bit of turn
on offer, Rashid will be tougher to deal with.

Agreed, the youngsters in India’s current T20I side believe in fearless cricket and
expressing themselves.
But how they tackle disciplined spin bowling isn’t too assuring.

India, however, should have Rinku Singh back in the XI as he seems to have recovered from a lower-
back spasm and batted at nets during Thursday’s practice session. Dhruv Jurel, in
that case, will have to make way for Rinku.

Whether India make any further changes to their XI by including either Ramandeep Singh or Shivam Dube in place of Washington Sundar remains to be seen. For England, they will most likely bring Jacob Bethel back in place of keeper-batter Jamie Smith, who had sustained a stiff calf.