India vs England, 4th T20I: England sealed another emphatic win over Team India and have took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-game T20I series at the County Ground in Bristol. After a tidy bowling performance to restrict the Men in Blue to 158, Harry Brook and Phil Salt left the tourists clueless and chased down the target with more than six overs to spare. It proved to be the Englishmen’s first bilateral T20I series victory since 2014 over India and any series win against the Men in Blue in any format since 2018. Additionally, India have lost back-to-back series in the shortest format for the first time since 2018-19.
Here are the turning points from England’s nine-wicket win over India in Bristol
3) Shivam Dube’s wicket in the 14th over
While the Indian team were no way motoring along, a stable partnership had formed between Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube. However, Dube was seemingly going restless after a run-a-ball 22 and eventually lost patience against Will Jacks. With the left-hander going for a massive hoick, all he managed was a top-edge and Tom Banton took an easy catch at long-on. Following that 53-run stand, Iyer managed to dish out some big hits but all the incoming ones struggled.
2) India’s boundaries dry up in the last two overs
A set Shreyas Iyer took down Adil Rashid in the 18th over, slamming him two sixes and a boundary to end his spell at 4-0-49-1. With the Men in Blue reaching 150, a total of more than 170 looked on the cards. However, India’s boundaries dried up completely in the last two overs, with Iyer, who was on 77 by the end of the 18th, facing only four deliveries. Sam Curran and Jofra Archer didn’t give away any boundary and conceded only eight runs, leaving the Indian skipper stranded at 80 and limiting the visitors to a below-par 158.
1) Harry Brook dismantles Washington Sundar
In hindsight, the decision to bowl Washington Sundar was perhaps Shreyas Iyer’s poorest call of the game. While the powerplay entirely belonged to England, given they amassed 68/1, the tourists felt they could regain some semblance of control with a wicket post that. Nevertheless, Harry Brook shut the door down completely, taking the off-spinner for 19 runs, setting the wheels in motion for complete dominance. The England skipper eventually finished unbeaten 79 off 35 deliveries to fashion a series win for the hosts.
