All-rounders Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya put up a show with the bat and scored respective half-centuries to recover things for the hosts after a tough start to their innings. Half-centuries from Hardik Pandya and comeback man Shivam Dube, followed by an all-round bowling performance led by Ravi Bishnoi and concussion substitute Harshit Rana, helped India beat England in the fourth T20I in Pune to clinch the series.
India posted a huge total of 181/9 in their 20 overs in the 4th T20I match against England at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31. All-rounders Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya put up a show with the bat and scored respective half-centuries to recover things for the hosts after a tough start to their innings.
England looked primed to pick up their second win on the trot and level the series at one stage when Harry Brook was going all guns blazing but his wicket turned the game around as India fought back at the death to get the job done.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : “There is always a breeze which blows and it’s a pretty strong one. Dimensions – 65m and 64m square boundaries and a hit down the ground is 75m. Pitch – it’s 60% red soil and 40% black soil. The red soil basically means that it has a little bit of carry and bounce, so there’s a bit more in this surface than the black soil.
That’ll suit England a little bit. When you have a look at it, it’s slightly deceiving, you can see the cracks but essentially we’ve got a covering of grass but it’s dead grass and rolled in.
I don’t think it’s going to play a major role. But it is pretty dry, you can see some cracks emerging, that then will suit some of the pace-off bowlers with their spin. So I am going to sit on the fence a little bit here. There’s a bit in it for the pace bowlers and there’s a bit in it for the spinners.
When you look at the average score here, it’s not a high-scoring ground. The curator says that the dew might set in around 8;30 although in practice it sets in around 6:30.” reckons Murali Kartik and Nick Knight
Toss : England skipper Jos Buttler for the first time in the series won the toss and chose to bowl with two changes in the playing XI bringing in Jacob Bethell and Saqib Mahmood for Jamie Smith and Mark Wood. Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav batting first made three changes in the playing XI bringing in Rinku Singh , Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh for Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar and Mohammed Shami.
Note : Indian bowler Harshit Rana who played his debut match was not included in the original XI but was included as a concussion sub for Shivam Dube making his debut an sensational affair.
Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya Smash Fiery Half-centuries In Pune, Take India’s Total To 181 In 20 Overs after Saqib Mahmood’s initial fiery burst.
After being put into bat first, India were off to a horrible start as Sanju Samson, (1), Tilak Varma (0) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0) cheaply in just the second over of the match. Making his first appearance in the series, Saqib Mahmood rattled through the Indian top order and ended up being England’s pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name for 35 runs in four overs.
After being sent into bat, Abhishek Sharma took on Jofra Archer in the opening over for a six and a four but a horror show awaited them in just the second over of the innings. Saqib Mahmood, getting a game for the first time in the series, bowled a dream over that saw him bowl a maiden and pick three wickets to stun the home crowd.
Sanju Samson got out to another short ball as he pulled one straight to deep square leg and Tilak Varma fell first ball as his attempt to come down the track against the pacer proved to be futile. To add to India’s woes, their skipper Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t believe his luck when he hit one straight to short mid-on in the same over as India were reduced to 12/3.
Rinku Singh also made a crucial contribution with the bat on his return to the side as he scored 30 runs off 26 balls whereas Abhishek Sharma played a 29-run knock. Abhishek and the returning Rinku Singh still employed a positive approach to shift the momentum and they were successful to an extent as the boundaries started flowing. Against the run of play though, Abhishek slog-swept one straight to deep mid-wicket.
All-rounders Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya put up a show with the bat and scored respective half-centuries to recover things for the hosts after a tough start to their innings. Shivam Dube (53) and Hardik Pandya (53) stitched an 87-run stand for the sixth wicket as they smashed the England bowlers all around the park.
Even though Shivam Dube started off with a bang, England sent down a few tight overs to seize control of the contest. And with Brydon Carse picking out Rinku, India had lost half their side and were reeling at 87/5 with only 8 overs left in the innings. But from thereon, the fact that they still managed to breach 180 was down to an excellent partnership between Shivam Dube and Hardik that caught England off guard.
While Shivam Dube targeted Adil Rashid, Hardik tapered off a touch despite getting off to a good start. At one point, the allrounder was struggling on 14 off 17 before a couple of sixes off Mahmood helped him regain his mojo.
Hardik then went on an assault as he smashed sixes off Archer and Jamie Overton on his way to a 27-ball fifty. While he got out with a couple of overs left, Shivam Dube rounded off the penultimate over with back-to-back boundaries to bring up his fifty as well. An excellent final over from Overton saw him concede only three runs but India would have still been pleased with that remarkable recovery.
Concussion sub replaced debutant Harshit Rana’s and Ravi Bishnoi’s 3-fers give India series clinching 15 runs win over England despite Harry Brooks 51.
In order to square the series, England had to post their highest total on this tour so far. And Phil Salt for his part finally managed to survive Arshdeep Singh’s opening over while also collecting a couple of boundaries. But it was Ben Duckett who gave India a real scare by getting off to a flying start. After hitting Arshdeep for a hat-trick of boundaries, Duckett was also fearless against the spinners as he ensured England made 62 in the powerplay. However, the left-hander miscued one terribly off the last ball of the powerplay against Bishnoi to depart for 39.
One wicket paved the way for two more immediately as the spinners once again brought India back into the contest. Salt was undone by an arm-ball from Axar Patel and the in-form Jos Buttler mistimed one off Bishnoi to short-third.
Liam Livingstone and Brook stemmed the flow of wickets for a fair bit before Rana came into the attack for the first time, replacing the concussed Dube, to bag the big wicket of Livingstone. Rana’s involvement in the game as a like-for-like replacement for Dube did cause a flutter and to England’s annoyance, the pacer had a huge say in the final outcome.
However, a win was there for the taking for the visitors as Brook stamped his authority on the game by taking on Rana for 18 runs in an over. He eventually brought up a 25-ball fifty and at that point, England needed 53 from 34 for the win. But once again, wickets fell in clusters for them to ruin their chances as Varun Chakravarthy’s final over turned the game around. Instead of playing out his nemesis in the series, Brook perished in his attempt to take on the spinner and Carse followed suit just two balls later.
When Rana removed Jacob Bethell with a slower delivery, the writing was on the wall for England. Overton still gave them some hope with a couple of lusty blows and Rashid hit a six on his behalf to take the game right down to the wire. But England’s inability to score heavily in the penultimate over cost them the chase as India went in for the kill to ensure they add to their trophy collection at home.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Suryakumar Yadav the winning Indian skipper said : A top effort from everyone on the field. A great crowd from the start till the end, they were always behind us and there was support from everyone. We didn’t want to go back after 10/3 and boys know what brand of cricket we wanted to play.
Three wickets in one over, it was too much for us. But the way they batted, the way they responded, the positive intent they showed in the middle and the way Hardik and Dube showed their experience, it was great.
This is one thing we’ve been talking about – expressing yourself and you bat the same way as you bat in the nets. These guys, the way they practice during the net sessions, that’s incredible and they do the same in the game, so I am really happy. I think we are moving in the right direction.
I knew post-powerplay, between 7-10, that was the time we could control the game and the same thing happened, we picked a few wickets and controlled the game. Post-drinks, when unfortunately Shivam Dube couldn’t come in, Harshit Rana came in as the third seamer and delivered it for us, that was incredible. (What to expect in Mumbai?) Lot of fireworks, I am sure.
Jos Buttler the losing England skipper said : We started brilliantly, taking wickets in the powerplay and at the end of the batting powerplay, we were in a great position. We should have gone onto win the game. We did some really good things in the game.
We dropped Dube first ball and he went on to play a really good innings. With the bat, we were in a fantastic position and lost a couple of wickets quickly. (Takeaways) Just to double down on how we want to play, really impressed with how we’ve committed to that. I think we ca n commit more and when we do that, we’ll get more out of ourselves.
Shivam Dube who won Player of the Match for his 53 runs did not collect his award as skipper Suryakumar Yadav collects it for him. However bowling hero Harshit Rana after his dream debut with 3 wickets has few words to say : It is still a dream debut for me. When Dube came back, after two overs I was informed I will be the concussion substitute.
It is not just for this series, I have been waiting for an opportunity for a long time and I wanted to prove I belong here. I have bowled well in the IPL and was just following the same here.
The Indian men’s cricket team registered a 15-run win against England in the fourth game of a five-match T20I series played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday. India rode on fifties from Hardik Pandya (53) and Shivam Dube (53), while Ravi Bishnoi was their best bowler after finishing with figures of 3 for 28.
Friday’s win meant that India have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with the final match slated to take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Chasing 182, England made a lively start as their openers didn’t allow India’s bowlers to settle. Ben Duckett, in particular, looked in fine form and helped England to 62 before Ravi Bishnoi took his wicket with the final ball of the powerplay.
Axar Patel then dismissed Phil Salt and Ravi Bishnoi sent back Jos Buttler in the next two overs to reduce the visitors to 67 for 3. However, a breezy half-century by Harry Brook threatened to take the game away from India momentarily as he almost singlehandedly put England in the driver’s seat. Two wickets by Varun Chakravarthy in the 15th over, however, turned the tide of the game.
With Harshit Rana, concussion substitute for Shivam Dube, also picking up 3/33 on his international debut, the Indian bowlers ran through the English lower order after Brook’s dismissal. From 128/4 in the 15th over, the visitors were bundled out for 166 in 19.4 overs.
Earlier in the evening, England won the toss and asked India to bat first. The visitors dominated the opening exchanges courtesy of three early wickets in the same over from fast bowler Saqib Mahmood. The England pacer dismissed Sanju Samson for 1 before removing Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav for ducks in the second over of the innings.
Rinku Singh and Abhishek Sharma steadied the ship with a 45-run partnership before Adil Rashid dismissed Sharma in the eighth over after the hard-hitting left-hander had scored 29 off 19 deliveries. Rinku Singh was the next to depart in the 11th over after being caught in the deep off a Brydon Carse delivery. With both Abhishek and Rinku back in the dugout, it was up to all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube to ensure that India reached a competitive total and they didn’t disappoint.
Pandya joined Shivam Dube at the crease with India in a bit of trouble at 79 for 5 and they took the attack to the England bowlers, stitching together an 87-run partnership from 45 balls. Pandya did the bulk of the scoring as he made 53 off 30 balls prior to his dismissal in the last delivery of the 18th over.
The right-handed batsman’s action-packed knock, laced with four fours and just as many sixes, ensured that India had recovered to a strong position of 166/6 before his departure. The last two overs, however, saw India add just 15 runs to their total. Just three came from the 20th over which also saw the wickets of Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube fall.
The fireworks go off in Pune as the hosts win the series with a game to spare. The players now exchange handshakes. A game that had plenty of twists and turns. Inserted to bat, India were reduced to 12/3, thanks to Saqib Mahmood’s triple wicket maiden. Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh decided to counterattack but they still slipped to 79/5. Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya recorded fifties and stitched a crucial partnership to take India’s total over 180.
Overton bowled a brilliant final over and one of his bouncers hit Dube hit on the helmet. In reply, England got off a flier with Salt surviving against Arshdeep and Duckett hitting a flurry of boundaries. They forged a fifty stand for the opening stand. Duckett fell off the final ball of the powerplay, Salt and Buttler followed him in quick succession as England slipped from 62/1 to 65/3. Harshit Rana was allowed to be Dube’s concussion sub and he removed Livingstone off the second T20I delivery.
Brook fought and kept England in the hunt with a 25-ball fifty. He fell immediately after that to Varun and Carse holed out a couple of deliveries later. As long as Overton was out in the middle, England would have believed they had a chance but Rana bowled a brilliant penultimate over and provided the killer blow.
A one-sided encounter in Kolkata, Tilak Varma’s heroics in Chennai, a good all-round bowling performance from England to defend 171 in Rajkot and a see-saw contest here in Pune. There’ll be plenty of discussions around the concussion substitute as Harshit Rana replaced Dube and bowled four overs to finish with 3/33. Fair to say that wasn’t like-for-like but the match referee allowed it. That’s it from this encounter. The teams will move to Mumbai next – not a long travel – for the final T20I which will be a dead rubber.