When and Where to Watch India vs England, Live Streaming, Match Preview, Timings, and Pitch Report for 5th T20I

The showdown of cricket’s most enthralling rivalries. After four action-pack games, it has boiled down to a Saturday-decider. From a viewer’s perspective, the series has been as good as a multi-star box office hit with every inch of drama that would make one feel that the money spent on tickets was worth each penny. The series paused at 2-2 has given the supporters of both sides the same amount of ecstasy and melancholy.

It has been a cricketing equivalent of two champion wrestlers grappling in the ring, one choke-slamming the other and getting the same treatment with barely any time passed. One appears invincible one moment, another quite successfully manages to leave the same impression within moments. And it has proven four times in four fixtures between these top-ranked teams at Ahmedabad.

After as many sensational spectacles, it comes to one last round at the same venue that has witnessed too much in too little time: the seething pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer rattling a star-studded Indian top-order in match number one and three, the brutal domination of Buttler that killed the chase in game three, two back-to-back Kohli knocks that defied the detractors stylishly, Pant’s fearless assaults against the finest bowlers in the business, Iyer’s resilience amidst a crumbling order of batsmen, Ishan Kishan’s spellbinding display on debut, and of course, Suryakumar Yadav’s audacity.

Both India and England came in with plans and a checklist in the series. The new “aggressive from the onset”, “bat without baggage”, approach cost India the game in the first T20I but reaped enough rewards in the fixtures that followed. Also, not for the first time did Virat Kohli voiced his desire of winning games while defending. Though it did not come down to Kohli opting to defend in the fourth game, for Morgan, once again, called correctly at the toss, Indian skipper was clear in suggesting that he would have opted to put in his team – despite all three previous encounters being won by the side chasing – had he won the toss. And India finally successfully defended the target.

Also then, India wanted to not depend on specific players, and in a versatile bunch including Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, they know that there is no shortage of match-winners for them. Add to this that they got back Hardik Pandya, the bowler, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, both in good nick, and safe to say that India has more reasons to smile than worry.

For England, the series was an opportune chance to get their eyes in and extract maximum experience of the situations they are most likely to face come to the T20 World Cup later this year. To that end, they must be pleased that not only have they managed to do that, but they still hold a chance to win a series against India in India! Even being in contention after four games is not a mean achievement. Definitely not against a team that is known for its near invincibility at home.

While the larger narrative of the series has been constantly revolving around the global event of the World Cup, all eyes will be on who stamps the authority over whom come Saturday. World Cup still has a bit of time. For now, it is the showdown…

Pitch and conditions

The surfaces were an inevitable topic of discussion during the Test series, but too little of that has run down in the series thus far. The soil and conditions might have had an impact, but largely the series has come down to better application and better execution, with pitch, at times, being totally out of the equation.

Twice on black soil, once on red, and then back to black, and back to the track of game one. In a welcome event, the trend of win-the-toss-win-the-match has been put to pause. And that will only make the toss more interesting. Expect another track that turns a bit, rewards taking off the pace for the pacers, and with that offers good assistance to the batsmen. Conditions will be like they are in Ahmedabad at this time of the year: hot and humid.

Playing combination for IND vs ENG

India  

India has been chopping and changing their combination either due to injuries or give game time to a few, given they do not have more chances to test their fringe players at the international level before they walk into the World Cup. A groin niggle kept out Ishan Kishan in the previous game, whereas Yuzvendra Chahal was rested to slot in Rahul Chahar.

While both Vikram Rathour and Kohli have suggested that KL Rahul has got their back, if Kishan regains fitness, they might want to rope him in at the expense of Rahul. Suryakumar Yadav has dissolved more difficulty in the team selection headache with a Player of the Match performance, and he must pick himself.

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul/Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar

England 

England has been at their full-strength. Though skipper Morgan was suggestive that Moeen Ali will come into contention at “some point” in the series, he is yet to get a go. Would England make too many changes with the series on the line? It seems unlikely. Would they slot in Ali? Perhaps, at the expense of Curran, if the conditions are conducive for spin.

Predicted XI: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (WK), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Sam Curran/Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

IND vs ENG Head to Head

Played – 18 | India – 9 | England – 9

In India

Played – 10 | India – 5 | England – 5

IND vs ENG Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 7:00 PM (IST)

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming– Disney + Hotstar VIP.