IND vs ENG | Dawid Malan’s impeccable England record no fluke, stresses Paul Collingwood

After Dawid Malan played yet another team-hurting knock in the fourth T20I, where he amassed just 14 runs off 17 balls, questions arose once again, asking if the southpaw fit into England’s ultra-aggressive batting line-up. Notorious for his high-risk approach - where he starts off extremely slowly before catching up after getting his eye in - Malan enjoyed a remarkable T20I career prior to the start of the India series, registering 10 fifty-plus scores in 19 innings. But the southpaw's failure to be flexible with his gameplan has seen many call for axing, despite him still being the number one ranked batsman in the world.

"What he's done with an England shirt on in T20 cricket has been pretty much exceptional up until this series. He'll be the first person to say it hasn't gone quite as well as he'd like in the first four games, but he's got an opportunity again to do something special [on Saturday].

Talks of Malan’s axing being an inevitability have existed within the media for months now, but England have, thus far, showed no signs that they want to move on from the experienced southpaw. Collingwood said that England, post 2015, have taken pride in backing their cricketers and attested that it is important for players to know that they have the full support of the captain, coaches and the support staff.

"One thing this team has done so well in the past four years, this new era of white-ball cricket, is back their cricketers.

After having the game under their control in the 15-over mark in the chase, England collapsed in the final five overs of the fourth T20I to let slip an opportunity to seal the series. Collingwood stated that the Three Lions will treat Saturday’s encounter like a final, and added that beating India in India will be a huge confidence-booster for a side that has been on a steady upward trajectory in the past few months.

"It's like a final for us; two fantastic sides going head to head, who are in good form and playing some good cricket. It's a huge game and both teams know it.

"It would be a great confidence booster for all of the players, to play against such a high-quality side in their own backyard and to win the series. There is a lot of excitement around to have the chance to do it,” said the England assistant coach.