Shreyas Iyer’s valiant unbeaten 80 went in vain as Harry Brook and Phil Salt made a mockery of a 159-run target with blazing half-centuries, powering England to a series-clinching nine-wicket win over India in the fourth T20I on Thursday.
Opting to bat, Iyer appeared to be playing on a different surface, scoring a 49-ball 80 not out, his second fifty as captain, to guide India to 158 for 7. He struck five sixes and four fours, holding the innings together as wickets tumbled regularly on a typically pacy English wicket.
In stark contrast, England were never troubled by the modest target and dominated the Indian bowlers from the outset, romping home in just 13.5 overs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Brook led from the front
with a blistering 79 not out off 35 balls, laced with eight fours and four sixes, while Phil Salt played the perfect supporting role with an unbeaten 59 off 42 balls (9×4, 1×6) as the Indian bowlers struggled for breakthroughs.
The defeat will be particularly alarming for the reigning T20 world champions, who have now lost back-to-back series within four months of their title triumph in Ahmedabad on March 8. In fact, this marks the first time since 2018-19 that India have lost successive T20I series.
India had earlier suffered a 0-2 defeat to Ireland and now trail 0-3 against England after the series opener was washed out. The final T20I will be played in Southampton on Saturday.
For skipper Iyer, who succeeded Suryakumar Yadav after India’s title triumph, it was a fifth defeat in six matches as he continues his search for a maiden win as captain.
Missing Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy due to injuries, India handed the new ball to Prasidh Krishna. England started cautiously before Jos Buttler was dismissed in the second over by Arshdeep Singh.
From there, it was one-way traffic as Salt and Brook took control. Salt, fresh from his match-winning 70 at Nottingham, attacked Prince Yadav, who struggled with his lines and lengths, conceding boundaries and extras. It was surprising that India did not persist with Arshdeep after the early breakthrough, as England raced to 62/1 in the powerplay.
Brook then unleashed his full range against the spin duo of Washington Sundar and Axar Patel, who conceded 37 runs in the eighth and ninth overs, effectively sealing the contest. Brook smashed Washington for a four, a six, and consecutive boundaries, before taking on Axar, who was playing his 100th T20I, to bring up his fifty in just 21 balls.
Earlier, Iyer had stitched a 53-run stand with Shivam Dube (22), but with wickets falling at the other end, he was forced to anchor the innings. He broke free in the 18th over, hammering Adil Rashid for two sixes and a four in a 20-run burst.
That, however, was an exception as England’s bowlers executed their plans brilliantly. Sam Curran conceded just four runs in the penultimate over, while only eight runs came from the final two overs. Jofra Archer (2/20) capped the innings with a two-wicket final over, including the run-out of Axar.
The extra bounce once again troubled India’s top order. Archer dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (15) for the second time in as many innings, while Josh Tongue (2/36) removed Ishan Kishan (4) inside the powerplay.
Adil Rashid then struck to dismiss Abhishek Sharma (16), leaving India struggling at 48/3 within seven overs. From there, Iyer and Dube attempted a rebuild, with Dube promoted to No. 5 to counter spin.
However, Dube struggled to accelerate, managing 22 off 23 balls, while Tilak Varma also failed to support Iyer, falling cheaply for 11.
Sooryavanshi’s aggressive approach, effective on flatter Indian pitches, proved costly again. The 15-year-old opener, who scored 14, 13 and 15 in the series, fell attempting an ambitious stroke, holing out to Sam Curran off Archer.
Kishan followed soon after, undone by extra bounce, while the biggest blow came when Rashid produced a sharp return catch to dismiss the fluent Abhishek.
Despite Iyer’s lone effort, India never truly recovered, and England’s clinical chase ensured a comprehensive win.
(With PTI Inputs)
