India won the fourth T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31 by 15 runs, giving them an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series against England.
Given that they had to overcome challenging beginnings in both innings, India’s victory was by no means simple. India lost three wickets in the second over, which was bowled by right-arm seamer Saqib Mahmood, after Jos Buttler won the toss for the first time in the series and chose to field first. The hitters who were removed were Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Sanju Samson.
Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh’s 45-run partnership off 32 balls helped to ease tensions. Both left-handed batters, though, were unable to build on their starts.
At 79/5, India was in serious difficulty after being out of the game by the eleventh over.
Shivam Dube, who was making his comeback to the Indian side, was given a respite when Buttler missed a difficult opportunity while he was batting at zero. In order to put India in a strong position, he teamed up with Hardik Pandya to stitch an essential 87-run combination off 45 balls. After each batsman scored 53 runs, they were both removed. Dube faced 34 balls, while Hardik faced 30.
In their 20 overs, the home team finished at 181/9. Mahmood concluded with stats of 3/35 in four overs, making him the best bowler for England. Jamie Overton, meanwhile, took two wickets.
Ben Duckett and Phil Salt combined for 62 runs in the first six overs of the reply, giving England a fast start. In the final ball of the powerplay, Duckett scored a 19-ball 39, but Ravi Bishnoi dismissed him, ending the dangerous pairing. In the following two overs, Buttler and Salt were dismissed to Bishnoi and Axar Patel, respectively.
Harry Brook lost his colleagues on the opposite end, but he still made some amazing shots. Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell were taken out by Harshit Rana, who replaced Dube due to a concussion. But in the 15th over, Varun Chakaravarthy got rid of Brook and Brydon Carse for 51 (26) and 0 (2), respectively.
Despite their best efforts, Jamie Overton and Adil Rashid had too much work to do in the latter stages of the innings. With the final wicket taken by Arshdeep Singh, the Three Lions were dismissed for 166 in 19.4 overs. Bishnoi and Harshit each took three wickets. Chakaravarthy, meanwhile, increased his total number of wickets by two.
Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to all the action from the fourth T20I:
This is bazball while bowling from England. Two slips & a gully in T20s. Wow! 🤩 #INDvENGonJioStar
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) January 31, 2025
Puneவில் Pandiyavin ராஜ்ஜியம் 💥 #INDvENG
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) January 31, 2025
Impact player ?
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025
Just maybe it had to be a change of format to get the counties to agree many years ago .. plus to get FTA TV onside as it’s a shorter 3 hr show .. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it goes to a T20 comp eventually .. 👍 https://t.co/gShbUzJK6v
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 31, 2025
Michael me old mate.
Please get them to play T20 and most people will get onside. You must agree that the 100 is just an ugly mutant that has no respect for our great game.
— Jim Perchard (@JLPerchard) January 31, 2025
Opportunities can come from the most unexpected places. Harshit Rana, at the start of play, probably never imagined he’d play such a pivotal role in the game. Life. Cricket.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025
How can an out & out bowler replace a batter who bowls part time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #INDvsENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 31, 2025
Varun Chakravarthy👌 👏 the pitch had hardly anything for spinners.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025
Hi Michael! #INDvENG https://t.co/kBi54mrnas pic.twitter.com/y7qfaHuiq2
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) January 31, 2025