India Clinches T20I Series Against England 3-1 After Dominant 4th T20I Victory 

The Indian national squad won the five-match T20I clash against England 3-1 ahead of schedule. It achieved this result with a tough 15-run win at Pune on January 31 (181/9 against 166). Bowlers Ravi Bishnoi and debutant Harshit Rana were the main protagonists in the Indian line-up. They bowled out the Three Lions for 166 in 19.4 overs.

The Impact of Harshit Rana 

England could have taken the series to a deciding match because, initially, everything was in the team’s favor. It won the toss, started the game on a flat pitch with strong dew around it, and reduced India to 12 for three and then 79 for 5. However, as the game progressed, the Three Lions started losing wickets in clumps after getting to 62 for zero inside the powerplay.  

Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya greatly influenced India’s triumph. Still, one of the key episodes of the clash was full-time bowler Harshit Rana coming onto the field. He replaced Dube, who was hit in the helmet and complained of concussion symptoms. As a result, Rana took the wickets to Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and Jamie Overton to go with a six-run 19th over. Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh also claimed crucial wickets.

It is worth noting that England skipper Jos Buttler expressed his displeasure that India had replaced Dube with a full-time bowler instead of an allrounder. He said questions should be asked to match referee Javagal Srinath to clarify the situation.

India’s Dominant Status 

The last, fifth game of the series will be played on 2 February in Mumbai. Regardless of the outcome, India has reasserted its world dominance in the shortest format. It claimed its 17th consecutive triumph in a home T20I series.