India vs West Indies Match Prediction: Who will win today's 4th T20I match?
The United States of America will welcome Team India and the West Indies when they lock horns in the fourth T20I of the five-match series on Saturday. Lauderhill in Florida, which has seen some memorable matches over the years, will host the crucial encounter.
The Windies are 2-1 up in the series by virtue of clinching the opening two games in Trinidad and Guyana, respectively, by narrow margins. Nicholas Pooran was the standout performer in both matches, with a great deal of support from the likes of Jason Holder and Rovman Powell.
However, the hosts failed to seal the deal in the third T20I, with Suryakumar Yadav's stellar knock handing India a lifeline. Hardik Pandya has never lost a T20I series as India's captain and will be intent on preserving that record. His leadership, however, has been under scrutiny lately.
Irrespective of the outcome of the upcoming two contests, India will be keen on using the experience to build towards the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be held across the same venues. The Men in Blue have already taken some drastic measures in the T20I format and need to finetune their preparations for the marquee ICC event.
Can West Indies get back to winning ways and clinch the trophy? Or do India have more fight left in them?
India vs West Indies Match Prediction: Men in Blue look to convert winning momentum
Lauderhill has proved to be a high-scoring venue so far, with short boundaries on most sides and a friendly batting wicket playing into the hands of the willow-wielders. If that is the case once again on Saturday, both teams could stand to benefit.
While Brandon King and Kyle Mayers have played a few meaningful cameos without really firing, their opposition counterparts have fared even worse. Ishan Kishan is now out of the playing XI, and Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal have four single-digit scores between them in the series so far.
The middle orders of the two teams, meanwhile, feature two southpaws who have lit the rubber on fire. Tilak Varma, 20, has been the star of the show for the Men in Blue, while the explosive Nicholas Pooran has been almost impossible to contain.
The Pooran vs Kuldeep Yadav match-up could dictate the outcome of the fourth T20I. India's star spinner has a positive record against the West Indies batter, who was deceived and stumped in the last game. If he can see the back of Pooran once again, Hardik and Co. could exploit the other weaknesses in the home side's batting lineup.
Moreover, India's players are slowly coming together as a unit to dish out collective performances. If the openers can join the party as well, they'd become a fearsome unit that is still, on paper, significantly stronger than West Indies.
Overall, while the Windies have shown ample glimpses of their sheer quality in the shortest format, India should be able to keep their winning momentum going and set up a high-octane decider.
Prediction: India to win the fourth T20I vs West Indies.