England were striking hard for a win to level up the series, but were handed defeat by the hosts in Pune, here at the 4th T20I on Friday. They had the best of a chance to win the game, by starting on with the toss in their favor, then limiting India quick to 12 for 3 followed by 79 for 5. The visitors were 62-0 during the powerplay at the flat pitch, with heavy dew. But somehow kept on losing wickets ending up at 166 only.
England lost their six wickets to the spinners alone. They were still on a high batting at 129 during the 15th over, but Varun Chakraborty again clinched two worthy wickets in his last over. Secondly, what added to the win of India is the batting performances. Even though the wickets fell down quick, yet there was never a slowdown. India lost wickets of Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma, but the inning s continued with Abhishek Sharma batting on one end.
The final touches were added by Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya who overcame the mid-inning crisis. Both of them scored 53 each taking on India to a good enough total of 181. Not to forget, the substitution of Harshit Rana when Shivam Dube was hit on the helmet in the final over of India’s innings. Dube was replaced by Harshit Rana, a full time bowler who on his debut T20I took three important wickets of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and Jamie Overton giving only six runs in the 19th over.
England had Saqib Mahmood as the top pick of the bowlers with 3/35. Harry Brook hits a half-century and is picked up by Chakraborty. Buttler was the in-form batter for England but he also lost wicket to Ravi Bishnoi. The latter also broke the partnership, taking the wicket of Ben Duckett too. Though they were high in powerplay, they lost quick three wickets in 4 overs. And one by one losing it all at 166.
Post- match Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav said, “A top effort from everyone. A great crowd, they were always behind us. We didn’t want to go back after 10/3. Three wickets in one over was too much. The way Hardik and Dube showed their experience was great. This is one thing we have been talking about- you bat the same way you bat in the nets. I think we are moving in the right direction. I knew we could control the game after the powerplay. We picked a few wickets. Post drinks, Harshit Rana came in as the third seamer and delivered. (What to expect in Mumbai?) Lot of fireworks, I am sure.”
The final T20I international of the five match series between India and England is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 02nd February 2025 in Mumbai. After this, the two teams also have a three match ODI Series that will be played in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad respectively.
