The 4th T20 between India and England was, as expected, a cracker and it was India who prevailed with an 8-run victory in Ahmedabad to set up a mouth-watering decider on Saturday.
India became the first side to win the game batting first in the series as they scored 185/8 in their innings. Debutant Suryakumar Yadav was the standout batsmen for the hosts as he smoked his first ball for six, before going on to hit 57 from 31 balls. He was caught by Malan in the deep with controversy surrounding the dismissal as to whether the ball was grounded or not. Shreyas Iyer (37) and Risabh Pant (30) supported Yadav well and helped to boost the score. Jofra Archer (4-33) and Mark Wood (1-25) were the pick of the bowlers for England.
England’s response faltered early on as Jos Buttler was dismissed for 9 before Jason Roy (40) and Ben Stokes (46) pushed them towards India’s total. At one point it looked like Stokes was taking his side home as he smacked the spinners to all parts but Shardul Thakur got him and Eoin Morgan in consecutive balls to all but end England’s hopes. A brief modicum of hope appeared in the final over as Archer struck a couple of boundaries but it proved too much for the visitors. Hardik Pandya (1-16) was exceptional with the ball and was one-third of a well-oiled seam attack for the Indians.
India has a lot to sort out to find their strongest team but their young batsmen really impressed here today and their seamers were excellent on a good pitch. England will learn a lot from this performance and in particular, will want to look at how to play the slower ball in the later overs of an innings.