India’s batting woes continued in the fourth T20I against England as Ishan Kishan fell cheaply after struggling again with the short ball. The left-handed batter was dismissed by Josh Tongue during the must-win encounter at the County Ground in Bristol on Thursday, July 9. After winning the toss, India elected to bat first in an attempt to keep the five-match series alive.

However, the visitors suffered another poor start as teenage opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi departed early. With India under pressure, Ishan Kishan walked in at No. 3 hoping to steady the innings, but his stay at the crease proved to be another disappointing one. On the second delivery of the fifth over, Tongue tested Kishan with a sharp short-pitched delivery clocked at around 140 km/h.

Although it was not a full-fledged bouncer, the extra bounce surprised the Indian batter as he attempted an aggressive pull shot outside off stump. Kishan only managed a top edge, and Sam Curran completed a simple catch at short third man. The wicket left Kishan with just four runs from six deliveries and reduced India to 33/2 inside the Powerplay.

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The dismissal further exposed India’s recurring problem of losing early wickets throughout the England series. Already trailing 2-0, the visitors entered the Bristol clash knowing that only a victory would keep their hopes of drawing the series alive.

Wickets in the Powerplay! 👌

A strong start from our bowlers.

Match Centre: https://t.co/y99hHk4MbW pic.twitter.com/CEuKabu6MQ

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 9, 2026

Kishan’s struggles have now extended across both overseas assignments since India’s victorious 2026 T20 World Cup campaign. He scored just 1 and 12 during the two-match T20I series in Ireland before enduring another inconsistent run against England.

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The wicketkeeper-batter was dismissed for a two-ball duck in the opening T20I before scoring a slow-paced 49 off 40 deliveries in the second game. He followed it up with 13 runs in the third T20I and another single-digit score in Bristol, raising fresh concerns over his form in international cricket.

The recent lean patch comes as a surprise considering Kishan’s outstanding performances earlier this year. He finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer at the 2026 T20 World Cup, amassing 317 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 193.29. He also enjoyed a prolific IPL 2026 campaign, scoring 602 runs in 15 matches at an average of 40.13 and a strike rate of 182.42. However, the explosive left-hander is yet to rediscover that form on the ongoing overseas tour.