India vs England Match Prediction: Who will win the 4th T20I match?

On the sidelines of the SA20 league, the in-form Joe Root was asked whether he has an eye on making a comeback to the England T20I side amid their spin concerns. The veteran batter was classy as always, pointing out that the team has a bunch of quality players and that he's backing them to turn things around in the remainder of the series.

With the next edition of the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India, England will certainly need to fine-tune their spin game, regardless of whether they undergo personnel changes. In a positive sign, Jos Buttler and Co. are coming off a morale-boosting win over India in Rajkot, a match in which their four-pronged pace attack produced the goods despite another spin stumble with the bat.

As things currently stand, the series is 2-1 in favor of India. Suryakumar Yadav and his men have been on a bilateral winning spree in recent times and are only one victory away from sealing the trophy against a power-packed white-ball side.

The Men in Blue have dealt with a few injury concerns and aren't at full strength, but overall, they've played better cricket than England, whose approach has left much to be desired. As the caravan moves to the MCA Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31, the two teams will focus on fine-tuning their high-variance and unpredictable strategies.

India’s updated squad for the T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shivam Dube, Ramandeep Singh.

England's squad for the T20I series against India: Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook (vc), Phil Salt (wk), Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Mark Wood.

Can India bounce back and seal the series? Or will England continue their fightback and push the rubber into a decider?

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IND vs ENG 2025: Can England continue their winning momentum?

India v England - 3rd T20I - Source: Getty

England's spin concerns won't be solved easily. They are clearly susceptible to all kinds of spin even on turning tracks, with their over-enthusiastic approach proving to work against them at times. For example, the visitors tried to attack Varun Chakaravarthy's last two overs when it would've been much easier to play him out and target the rest.

Will India consider fielding an additional fast bowler to give Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya some support? Under normal circumstances, they might have, but England's weaknesses need to be exploited while the home side still have the advantage in the series.

So India could persist with their five spin options, and England will need to find a way to counter that. Bringing Jacob Bethell back could help to a certain extent, but Buttler and Co. will definitely take some time to hit perfection.

India's batting approach is fairly risky and serves as an equalizer of sorts. Key batters like Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav haven't delivered so far, but there isn't enough evidence to suggest that they're woefully out of form. A mean reversion to prolific run-scoring seems to be on the cards.

The two teams are evenly matched, and the toss will once again play a big role. But India should be the marginal favorites, by having the spin advantage and key batters due for runs.

Prediction: India to win the 4th T20I vs England.