India sealed the T20 series against England with a 15-run victory in the fourth match on Friday, taking a commanding 3-1 lead after five matches. Harshit Rana, playing his maiden international game after a concussion, replaced Shivam Dube and took three wickets. His presence generated criticism, as concussion substitute regulations normally require a comparable replacement.
Put in to bat first, India battled against Saqib Mahmood, who delivered a brilliant three-wicket maiden over on his debut. Suryakumar Yadav resumed his bad form, leaving for a duck, Tilak Varma stumbled at deep third man, and Sanju Samson mistimed a pull shot.
However, India rebounded because of a key 87-run partnership between Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. Both all-rounders hit equal half-centuries, scoring 53 each. Despite losing three wickets in the final over, India scored a challenging 181-9.
England started strongly, scoring 62-1 on the powerplay. Phil Salt (23) and Ben Duckett (39) spearheaded the attack, but India’s spinners turned the game around. Ravi Bishnoi took 3 for 28, including Duckett and Jos Buttler. Varun Chakravarthy struck late, taking off Harry Brook (51) and Brydon Carse in the same over.
The last T20I will occur in Mumbai on Sunday, followed by a three-match ODI series.
