‘You could feel that India were very cautious’ – Dinesh Karthik’s massive take on batting approach after ENG vs IND 2026 4th T20I

Dinesh Karthik opined that India were outplayed in all departments by England in the fourth T20I on Thursday, July 9, at the County Ground in Bristol. The Men in Blue lost the match by nine wickets as the hosts took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series with one game left to play.

Karthik noted that the Indian batters were very conservative with their approach on Thursday and even an enterprising 80* off 49 balls from captain Shreyas Iyer could only take them to a below-par score of 158/7. England chased the total in just 13.5 overs with nine wickets left in the tank. Karthik also highlighted India’s struggles against short-pitched bowling.

“Just in the fourth game of the series, and the series is done 3-0. You could feel that India were very cautious with their approach. It was Shreyas, who took the score to 159, which definitely looked under par. Harry Brook and Phil Salt absolutely hammered India and took England home in a canter. India were outplayed, outfielded, and definitely annihilated,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

“I think India have a problem adapting to a little bit of extra bounce. Right now Archer is leading the battle against Vaibhav Suryavanshi 2-0. Ishan Kishan, very circumspect, for the second time in two games, the pull shot not being his friend. Abhishek Sharma, on a pitch where he could have dominated the spinners, got out after not committing to a pull shot,” he added.

“It almost felt like he was stamping his authority as a skipper” – Dinesh Karthik on Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten fifty in ENG vs IND 2026 4th T20I

While Shreyas’ fighting half-century went in vain, he received praise from Karthik. The former India wicketkeeper said that the captain’s attitude was impressive, as he stepped up under pressure.

“India’s lone shining star in this game was their skipper, Shreyas Iyer. It almost felt like he was stamping his authority as a skipper, but whatever he did, it was just not good enough. India lost three wickets in the first seven overs, so Shreyas had to play a bit of a steady kind of role, which he did. He eventually finished with 80, but what was amazing is that if Iyer had not got going, India would have ended up 130-140 for all you know. For a captain who’s under pressure, who has last four games, for him to stand up and say, ‘I need to be counted as a batter’, is a good attitude,” Dinesh Karthik said of the Indian captian.

The fifth and final T20I of the series, which is a dead rubber, will be played at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday, July 11.