India vs England 4th T20I highlights: India beat England by 15 runs, take an unassailable 3-1 lead in 5-match series

WICKET! A triple wicket maiden from Saqib Mahmood. Suryakumar Yadav goes for a duck. The spectators at Pune have fallen completely quiet after SKY's dismissal for a four-ball duck! India are in a precarious position! Saqib is on fire right now. He bowls a fullish-length ball targeting the middle and leg stump line. Suryakumar Yadav attempts to work the ball through the gap between mid on and mid-wicket. The ball hits the upper portion of his bat and pops up. Brydon Carse takes a brilliant catch at short mid on. Surya is in complete disbelief.

INDIA 12/3 in 2 overs vs ENGLAND

WICKET! Saqib Mahmood strikes again, Tilak Varma departs for a duck. India find themselves in a difficult position as Tilak gets dismissed without scoring! Saqib delivers a full-length ball around the off stump. The ball lands and moves swiftly as Tilak Varma advances down the pitch, attempting to hit it over the fielders. However, he gets a thick edge that travels towards deep third where Jofra Archer is positioned. Archer takes a brilliant catch.

INDIA 12/2 in 1.3 overs vs ENGLAND

WICKET! Saqib Mahmood strikes, Sanju Samson falls for 1 run.

INDIA 12/1 in 1.1 over vs ENGLAND

SIX! First maximum of the match. Superb weight transfer from Abhishek Sharma. He goes on backfoot and slashes the ball over deep backward point for a six. Incredible shot from the youngster. Archer isn't happy. Poor delivery from him.

Sanju Samson in T20Is

Batting 1st: Avg 31.76 | SR 163.08 | 3 X 100s | 2 X 50s

Chasing: Avg 16.09 | SR 121.23 | Highest 39

The players are out in the middle.

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are at the crease.

Jofra Archer will open the attack for England.

Here we go .. !!

Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy

Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood

England skipper Jos Buttler wins toss and decides to bowl first against India in Pune.

A fit-again Rinku Singh and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who was rested for the Rajkot T20I can be seen warming up.

We are just 15 minutes away from toss.

Spinner Varun Chakaravarthy is averaging a stunning 8.5 in the series.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya needs just two more wickets to equal Yuzvendra Chahal's record in T20Is.

England vice-captain Harry Brook has scored just 38 runs in the 3 games so far.

Shami's return to international cricket in the Rajkot game showed promise, though he needs more match practice to regain his rhythm.

India faces the possibility of losing their first home T20I series against England, which would be a challenging start for coach Gambhir's tenure.

The team management might consider bringing back Arshdeep Singh to the lineup. In Jasprit Bumrah's absence, Singh has established himself as India's most effective T20I bowler and could provide crucial early wickets during the Powerplay overs.

Due to Rinku Singh's back spasms, the team management tested Dhruv Jurel at the number seven position but he struggled to adapt to the format, despite his success in Test cricket.

Although Rinku was given rest during the initial two matches, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed his fitness for Friday's game during the pre-match press conference.

Rinku, despite an impressive start in T20 internationals, has experienced a decline in performance lately.

After Gautam Gambhir took the role of Kolkata Knight Riders mentor, Rinku received limited playing time, facing only about 70 balls in IPL 2024. This affected his chances for T20 World Cup selection, with Shivam Dube being preferred for his additional bowling skills in the Americas.

The Indian middle order has faced difficulties against England's Adil Rashid. With Dube returning to the team, his selection remains uncertain, particularly considering the pace of England's fast bowlers.

Ramandeep Singh presents another option as a finisher, offering better seam bowling compared to Dube. However, he remains untested against high-quality pace bowling.

In the 3 T20Is against England, Samson has had difficulty getting his bat down in time, with deliveries often reaching the wicketkeeper Phil Salt's gloves.

The combination of hard lengths and steep bounce has proven challenging, even on batting-friendly surfaces.

Despite the technical issues, Samson remains a favorite of head coach Gautam Gambhir.

He is likely to continue being part of India's plans leading up to next year's T20 World Cup.

The team management, including Gambhir, new batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, and Samson himself, will need to address these technical challenges promptly to improve his performance against fast bowling.

In his previous series, Samson faced bowlers like Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Shakib from Bangladesh, along with Andile Simelane and Lutho Sipamla from South Africa.

They bowlers typically operated between 130-140 kilometers per hour, allowing Samson to play his shots effectively on favorable pitches.

However, England's Jofra Archer and Mark Wood present a different challenge, consistently bowling between 145-155 kilometers per hour.

Samson has struggled to handle their pace and bounce effectively.

Samson, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman, began the T20I season impressively with three centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa. His dedicated fan base often highlights his limited opportunities at the international level.

In the current series against England, Samson has scored 26, 5, and 3.

While the numbers alone aren't concerning given the risky nature of T20 cricket, his performance against high-speed bowling has raised questions.

His discomfort against bowling speeds exceeding 145 kph has become apparent during the series.

This stands in contrast to his success against medium-pace bowlers from Bangladesh and South Africa.

Sanju Samson's struggles against fast bowling and Rinku Singh's recent form and fitness issues will be on Team India's mind as they gear up to face England in the fourth T20 International at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

After missing opportunities in the third T20I in Rajkot, India have another chance to secure the series before the final game in Mumbai on February 2.

The home team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, currently leads the series after winning the first two matches in Kolkata and Chennai.