IND vs ENG, 4th T20I: India beats England to gain unassailable series lead
IND vs ENG, 4th T20I: India beats England to gain unassailable series lead
England started the match on a high – with Saqib Mahmood scalping three India batters in his first over – second of the match – also a maiden. England also finished the innings on a high, with India losing three wickets in the last over. For most of the 17 overs in between, however, the allrounder duo of Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya ruled the roost to ensure India set England a respectable target.
Despite Ben Duckett getting England off to a flier and Harry Brook starting to cut loose in the latter half, the spin twins of Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy then shut the door on England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium here on Friday night to give India an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Harshit Rana’s inclusion as a ‘concussion sub’ for Dube after the latter was struck on his helmet in the last over may have raised eyebrows. But the pacer did play his role in what turned out to be a fruitful T20I debut as he bowled all four overs after being introduced into the attack in the 12th over, picking crucial wickets of dangerous Liam Livingstone (edged one that was seaming away to the keeper) and Jacob Bethell (misread a slower ball to scoop it to long-on).
Rana’s last ball, which crashed into the stumps off Jamie Overton’s inside-edge, virtually sealed the deal for India as England was bowled out for 166 with two balls to spare, in the hunt for India’s 181 for nine.
Had it not been for Dube’s exploits with the willow along with Hardik, India’s bowling pack would have found itself trying to defend a below-par target on a surface as hard as the adjoining Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
At 12 for three, with Mahmood’s pace turning out to be too good for Sanju Samson (pulled straight to deep-square), Tilak Varma (top-edged to third-man) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (chipped to short mid-on), India was in a spot of bother. But the southpaw duo of Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh stabilized the innings, with Abhishek displaying his artistic strokeplay.
Soon after the PowerPlay, Abhishek perished to leggie Adil Rashid’s speed variation. Had captain Jos Buttler caught an edge off Dube’s willow in the slips off the very next ball, England would have taken a firm grip on the game. But the moment Dube sent Rashid packing over the long-on stands two balls later, it was clear that the burly batter wasn’t in the mood to let go of an opportunity that came his way only after being called up as a replacement for Nitish Kumar Reddy midway through the series.
With Hardik joining him in the 11th over, the duo stitched together a quickfire association of 87 runs off 44 balls to swing the pendulum in India’s favour. While Dube dealt in sixes, Hardik found gaps through vast gaps to precision as the duo notched up their individual fifties.
Despite a relatively timid end to the innings, the allrounders had ensured India was in the ascendancy and the bowling pack – with Chakravarthy’s double-wicket effort in his last over, including an in-form Brook – ensured India pocketed the series with a game to spare.
