Ravi Bishnoi, second left, celebrates the wicket of England captain Jos Buttler.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
England looked on course to level the T20I series before tripping up against pacer Harshit Rana and the spin duo of Varun Chakaravathy and Ravi Bishnoi to hand India an unbeatable 3-1 lead at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday.
England started the match on a high as Saqib Mahmood scalped three India batters in his first over, including two off the first two deliveries. Buttler’s men also finished things on a high as the Men in Blue lost three wickets in the final over. For most of the 17 overs in between, however, the all-rounder duo of Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya ruled the roost as the hosts set the visitor a challenging target.
Despite Ben Duckett getting England off to a flier and Harry Brook cutting loose in the latter half, spin twins Ravi Bishnoi and Varun put the skids on the chase.
Harshit Rana’s inclusion as a ‘concussion sub’ for Dube after the latter was struck on the helmet in the 20th over of the Indian innings may have raised eyebrows. But the pacer played his role in what turned out to be a fruitful T20I debut as he bowled all four overs after being introduced into the attack in the 12th over.
He picked up the crucial wickets of Liam Livingstone, who edged one to the ’keeper, and Jacob Bethell, who misread a slower ball and scooped it to long-on.
Harshit’s final delivery of the evening crashed into the stumps as Jamie Overton inside-edged, virtually sealing the deal for India. England was bowled out for 166 with two balls to spare in reply to India’s 181 for nine. Had it not been for Dube’s exploits with the willow, in the company of senior pro Hardik, India’s bowling pack would have found itself defending a below-par target on a surface as hard as the adjoining Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
At 12 for three, with Mahmood’s pace turning to be too good for Sanju Samson (pulled straight to deep-square), Tilak Varma (top-edged to third-man) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (chipped to short mid-on), India was in a spot of bother. But the southpaws — Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh — stabilised the innings even as the former showcased his strokeplay.
Soon after the PowerPlay, Abhishek perished to leggie Adil Rashid’s variation of speed. Had captain Jos Buttler caught an edge off Dube’s willow at slip off the very next ball, England would have taken a firmer grip.
The turnaround
But the moment Dube sent Rashid soaring into the midwicket stand two balls later, it was clear that the Mumbai batter wasn’t in a mood to let go of the opportunity that had come his way after the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy pulled out midway through the series.
With Hardik joining him in the 11th over, the duo stitched together a quickfire association of 87 off 44 balls to swing the pendulum in India’s favour. While Dube dealt in sixes, Hardik found the gaps to precision. Both scored 53, the former taking four deliveries more.
Despite a relatively timid end to the innings, the all-rounders had ensured India was in the ascendancy and the bowling attack — with Varun’s double-wicket effort in his last over, including the in-form Brook — ensured India pocketed the series with a game to spare.
Published – January 31, 2025 11:19 pm IST
