Fantasy suggestions for the fourth T20I between India and England
Feb 18: India vs England, 4th T20I, Ahmedabad
Pro Tip: Chasing teams have lost only two wickets on average in this series. After the toss, make sure you have one bowler fewer from the side that bowls second.
Our XI: Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Jason Roy, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer
Substitutes: Suryakumar Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes
Player availability: T Natarajan is likely to join the Indian team in Ahmedabad soon, but his availability for this game is in doubt. No other major changes in player availability after the last game, however expect a couple of changes from India.
We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.
Captain: Rohit Sharma
The India opener would want to make an impact in the powerplay, as it hugely impacts the result of the game. He has been in fine form in the T20I format, scoring four 50-plus scores in his last 11 games at a strike rate of 152.65. Besides, in the recent Test series against England, he was the leading run-scorer for India with 345 runs.
Vice-captain: Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant’s confidence will be sky-high after producing some match-winning performances in the last couple of Test series. He has been phenomenal in the IPL over the last three years scoring 1515 runs – the third-highest tally in this period – at an average of 40.94 and a strike rate of 152.26. He has scores of 21, 26 and 25 so far in this series and is due a big one.
Hot Picks
Virat Kohli: On the back of masterful knocks of 73*(49) and 77*(46), the India captain should be one of your first-choice picks for this game. Since 2019 – among the top-ten teams – nobody has scored more T20I runs than his 911 runs in at an average of 60.73 and a strike rate of 146.22. He was India’s highest run-scorer in their last T20I series against Australia with 134 runs in three games.
Washington Sundar: The youngest member of the squad across both the teams in this T20I series, Sundar has been the most effective bowler for India in this series so far, picking up four wickets at an incredible economy of 6.95. Since making his T20I debut, he has picked up the second most number of wickets (12) and has the best economy (6.46) for spinners in the powerplay (minimum 15 innings). For a bowler who has played 29 T20I games, not once conceding over 40 runs speaks volumes about his consistency.
Jos Buttler: Put in a Man-of-the-Match performance in the last game for his 52-ball unbeaten 83. He has been in splendid form since taking over as an opener for England, scoring 666 runs in 17 games at an average of 51.23 and a strike rate of 153.10. He loves batting in India, amassing a staggering 850 runs in his last 17 T20s there at an average of 60.71.
Differential Picks
Jofra Archer: In Archer’s 118-game T20 career, he has not once gone wicketless in three consecutive games, so bank on him to pick up some wickets in the fourth T20I after blank returns the last two times around. He was the IPL 2020’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Man of the Match in the first game here for his scintillating figures of 4-1-23-3.
Jonny Bairstow: The England batsman has been smart with the bat so far in this series, recording scores of 26*, 20 and 40*. Over the last two years of IPL cricket, he has been one of the top-five overseas run-scorers with 790 runs in 21 games at an average of 41.57.
Alternative Scenarios
- Eoin Morgan can replace Jason Roy
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar can replace Yuzvendra Chahal
- If England are chasing, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer are alternative choices for the captaincy
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