India v England Prediction: Who will win the 5th T20I?

A narrow victory for Team India in the fourth T20I means there's all to play for in the fifth game in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

In the series decider, Team India dropped the out-of-form KL Rahul for left-arm pacer T Natarajan, with captain Virat Kohli opening the batting with Rohit Sharma.

After testing out a variety of team combinations during the series, Team India seem to zeroed in on the personnel for the upcoming T20I World Cup later this year.

With Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav making confident debut outings, the Men in Blue now seem to have all bases covered before the all-important global tournament.

An audacious first-ball six 👌A thrilling final over 😎A series-levelling win 👏@surya_14kumar & @imShard - two stars of #TeamIndia's win in the 4th @Paytm #INDvENG T20I - chat up. 👍👍 - By @RajalArora Watch the full interview 🎥 👇https://t.co/sUnrwPsHVi pic.twitter.com/YV8Oc1T7m1

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 19, 2021

England have a few concerns going into the T20I World Cup

Eoin Morgan hasn't been amongst the runs lately.

With the T20I World Cup only seven months away, England have a few worries despite starting the ongoing five-match series against India with a fairly-settled lineup.

While Jos Buttler and Jason Roy have been firing at the top of the order, the lack of runs from Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan has been pretty disconcerting. Even though Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow have played the Indian spinners well, their lack of consistency doesn't augur well for the visitors.

Dawid Malan in the T20 series against India:24*(20)24(23)18(17)14(17)

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 18, 2021

In the bowling department, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood have been exceptional for England.

Chris Jordan, however, is appearing to be the weak link, as he tends to leak runs for the team. Lack of matches for key all-rounders Sam Curran and Moeen Ali could also be a worrying factor for the world champions going into the World Cup later this year.

KL Rahul, Rahul Tewatia miss out

KL Rahul will be under immense pressure to perform

With Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan making massive statements on debut, Rahul Tewatia remains the only player in the Indian T20I squad yet to make his international debut.

The Rajasthan Royals all-rounder was not in the playing XI, but he could have been handy with his spin as well as his ability to score big.

Meanwhile, with KL Rahul dropping out, captain Virat Kohli put on a brisk 94-run stand for the opening wicket with Rohit Sharma as the hosts look on course for a tall total.

Vice-captain Rohit Sharma returned to form with a blistering 64 off 34 balls, hitting four fours and five sixes. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has continued his good form, scoring 32 off 17 before he was brilliantly caught at the boundary.

India v England: Playing XIs

Suryakumar Yadav retained his place in the playing XI after a dream innings on debut. Ishan Kishan, who missed the fourth T20I with a strain, missed out.

T Natarajan came on for KL Rahul in the only change for the hosts.

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, T Natarajan.

Meanwhile, England have gone into the series decider with an unchanged XI. Dawid Malan kept his place in the XI despite his recent indifferent form, while Moeen Ali missed out on his first game of the series.

England playing XI: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid.

India v England: Fourth T20I - Match Prediction

The dew factor is expected to play a big role, as batting is expected to become easier as the match proceeds.

Team India have lost only twice in the 19 T20I series they have played since September 2017. England also have a stellar record, not losing a single T20I series since losing defeat to India three years ago.

With the teams pretty evenly matched, another close game could ensue with the series on the line. But with momentum on their side, the Men in Blue could come out on top to pocket in the series decider on Saturday.

Batting first, India have raced to 157-2 after 15 overs as a high-scoring game looks to be on the cards.

Prediction: India to win a close game and take the series 3-2.