In the five-match series against England, India has an insurmountable 3-1 lead after winning the fourth T20I by 15 runs on Friday, January 31 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
By no means was India’s victory easy, as they had to overcome difficult starts in both innings. For the first time in the series, Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to field first, but right-arm seamer Saqib Mahmood bowled the second over, which cost India three wickets. Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, and Suryakumar Yadav were the hitters who were eliminated.
The 45-run partnership off 32 balls between Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh reduced tensions. But neither of the left-handed hitters could build on their early success. After losing the game by the eleventh over, India was in severe trouble at 79/5.
While batting at zero, Buttler wasted a challenging opportunity, which gave Shivam Dube, who was making a comeback to the Indian team, a break. He joined forces with Hardik Pandya to stitch an important 87-run partnership off 45 balls, putting India in a good position. Each batter was removed after scoring 53 runs. While Hardik faced 30, Dube faced 34 balls.
The home side ended up at 181/9 in their 20 overs. With a final four-over figure of 3/35, Mahmood was declared England’s best bowler. In contrast, Jamie Overton claimed two wickets.
With 62 runs between Ben Duckett and Phil Salt in the first six overs of the reply, England got off to a quick start. The hazardous partnership came to an end when Duckett scored a 39 off 19 balls in the last ball of the powerplay, but Ravi Bishnoi dismissed him. In the next two overs, Bishnoi and Axar Patel got rid of Buttler and Salt, respectively.
Even though Harry Brook lost his teammates on the other end, he still made some incredible shots. Due to Dube’s concussion, Harshit Rana replaced him, taking out Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell. Varun Chakaravarthy, however, dismissed Brook and Brydon Carse for 51 (26) and 0 (2) in the 15th over.
Meanwhile, here are the top memes from the fourth India vs England T20I:
Chad gautam Gambhir #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/kczQ0eK0Mj
— memes_hallabol (@memes_hallabol) January 31, 2025
Harshit Rana Shivam Dube #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/QIyRz78ayJ
— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) January 31, 2025
A Lefty allrounder’s rescue with the bat and pure bowler taking 3 wickets as a concussion sub.
It’s a classic pic.twitter.com/jJ1wxu2Qrr
— Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) January 31, 2025
India England series highlights #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/dofK6dGQb8
— Desi Bhayo (@desi_bhayo88) January 31, 2025
Man of the match award goes to…#Shivamdube #harshitRana pic.twitter.com/4cICYRIhdC
— memes_hallabol (@memes_hallabol) January 31, 2025
Harshit Rana taking many wickets after replacing Shivam Dube today pic.twitter.com/vyO4Ww5EMR
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) January 31, 2025
Chahal when he came in as concussion sub – 3/25
Rana when he came in as concussion sub – 3/33
Game changing performances, both of them.
— Manya (@CSKian716) January 31, 2025
Gambhir is so confident of India’s win that he is taking a nap. pic.twitter.com/4lNOsPhny0
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) January 31, 2025
Salt, Livingstone, Bethell = 23 crore ka chuna pic.twitter.com/4fqinYllvw
— Ankit Pathak 🇮🇳 (@ankit_acerbic) January 31, 2025