Half-centuries from Hardik Pandya and comeback man Shivam Dube, combined with an all-round bowling effort led by Ravi Bishnoi and concussion substitute Harshit Rana, powered India to a series-clinching victory against England in the fourth T20I in Pune. England appeared poised to level the series at one stage, especially with Harry Brook firing on all cylinders. Still, his dismissal turned the tide as India tightened their grip in the final stages, reports Live Cricket Score.
Sent into bat, India’s start was a nightmare. Abhishek Sharma struck a six and a four off Jofra Archer in the opening, but Saqib Mahmood’s sensational second over derailed the innings. Mahmood delivered a maiden and claimed three wickets, stunning the home crowd. Sanju Samson fell to a short ball, Tilak Varma was out first ball trying to charge the pacer, and captain Suryakumar Yadav departed to a catch at short mid-on, reducing India to a shocking 12/3.
Abhishek and the returning Rinku Singh steadied the innings with a flurry of boundaries, but Abhishek’s slog-sweep ended in the hands of deep mid-wicket. Shivam Dube began aggressively, but England’s tight overs and Brydon Carse’s dismissal of Rinku left India at 87/5 with only eight overs remaining. From there, Hardik and Dube mounted an extraordinary recovery.
While Hardik initially struggled, Dube took on Adil Rashid, managing just 14 off 17 balls before launching Mahmood for two sixes to regain momentum. Hardik unleashed an assault, smashing sixes off Archer and Jamie Overton to reach a blistering 27-ball half-century. Although he fell with two overs left, Dube ensured India finished strongly, bringing up his fifty with consecutive boundaries. Overton bowled a superb final over, conceding just three runs, but India’s recovery to 181/9 was remarkable.
England faced their highest chase of the series and started positively. Phil Salt survived Arshdeep Singh’s opening over, while Ben Duckett launched a fierce attack, including three consecutive boundaries off Arshdeep. Duckett’s aggressive play saw England race to 62 in the powerplay, but his miscue off Bishnoi’s final delivery ended his knock at 39.
That breakthrough opened the floodgates. Axar Patel’s arm ball accounted for Salt, and Ravi Bishnoi removed the dangerous Jos Buttler with a mistimed shot to short third. Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook steadied the innings, but Harshit Rana, replacing the concussed Dube, struck on his first appearance, removing Livingstone. Rana’s impactful performance as a like-for-like replacement was a crucial turning point.
Brook kept England in contention with a blistering 25-ball fifty, hammering Rana for 18 runs in one over. England seemed favourites with 53 needed off 34 balls, but wickets fell in clusters once again. Varun Chakaravarthy’s final over was pivotal as Brook perished trying to take him on, followed by Carse just two balls later.
Rana then dismissed Jacob Bethell with a slower delivery, leaving England’s hopes in tatters. Jamie Overton’s late blows and a six from Adil Rashid kept England in the hunt, but their inability to score big in the penultimate over sealed their fate. India held their nerve at the death to secure a 15-run win and add another home series victory to their tally.
Brief scores:
India 181/9 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 53, Shivam Dube 53; Saqib Mahmood 3/35)
beat England 166 in 19.4 overs (Harry Brook 51; Ravi Bishnoi 3/28, Harshit Rana 3/33) by 15 runs.
