For India’s T20 team, the start of a new era was supposed to bring fresh possibilities. Taking the captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer was supposed to usher the team into a new direction after the T20 World Cup triumph.
The regime change was supposed to be smooth. It has been anything but. Six completed games into Iyer’s captaincy across Ireland and England, India remain without a win, slipping to another defeat, this time by 56 runs in Southampton. With this loss, they have also lost their No. 1 ranking to England.
Chasing 258 for a consolation win in the fifth T20I, India needed one of their best batting efforts of the series to avoid a 4-0 defeat. The drama began even before a ball was bowled. Sanju Samson was surprisingly recalled to the playing XI after missing the last three games. He showed his compatriots how to counter the short ball by pulling Josh Tongue twice into the stands in the second over. India needed much more of the same, but a few overs later, he fell to Sam Curran for 27.
At 65/2 after six overs, India were a shade behind where they needed to be. England did not rely on the short ball as frequently as they had in the previous two matches, perhaps because of Samson’s early onslaught, but their disciplined bowling ensured India were never allowed to break free.
Ishan Kishan provided the visitors the only significant resistance in the chase, scoring a brisk 56 off 35 balls. He showed the intent required to take on England’s attack, pulling Josh Tongue for a six and repeatedly using the pace on offer to find boundaries.
Kishan and Shreyas Iyer began to mount a takedown of the target, combining singles with timely boundaries despite the asking rate escalating almost every over. But Iyer’s dismissal in the 11th over gave England the opening they needed.
The southpaw continued to keep India’s hopes alive after his captain’s departure, but eventually fell to Adil Rashid in the 13th over, slog-sweeping towards deep midwicket, where Phil Salt completed an excellent running catch. His dismissal ended India’s fading hopes of mounting a serious challenge in the chase.
The rest of India’s batting unit got starts, but none could convert them into the kind of explosive innings required in a chase of this magnitude. Despite late resistance from Tilak Varma, who scored a 25-ball 53, the world champions fell far short of the finish line.
Brook-Buttler blitzkrieg
India’s bowlers endured another difficult outing, despite making the ideal start. When Prasidh Krishna dismissed Phil Salt in the second over, it briefly raised hopes of a much-improved display. Instead, it proved to be the visitors’ solitary moment of joy, as the English batters’ unchallenged dominance turned the innings into a one-sided assault.
Jos Buttler led the charge with a spectacular 131 off 64 balls after managing only 8, 36 and 0 in his previous three innings of the series. The former captain combined power with innovation, smashing 12 fours and eight sixes to bring up his century in 51 deliveries, before delivering the final push in the final overs. India had a chance to halt his charge when Suryansh Shedge dropped a straightforward catch at deep extra cover after Buttler had reached three figures.
Harry Brook matched Buttler’s aggression, finishing unbeaten on 95 off 45 balls with four fours and eight sixes. He brought up his fifty in just 19 deliveries and, along with Buttler, dismantled India’s attack with a 233-run partnership for the second wicket. What began as a recovery after Salt’s early dismissal turned into complete domination of the bowling attack.
Axar Patel conceded 63 runs in four overs, while Prince Yadav leaked 60 without a wicket. Suryansh Shedge also went for 39 in three overs, while Prasidh Krishna’s early breakthrough came at the cost of 38 runs.
The fielding only added to India’s growing problems. Apart from Buttler’s dropped catch, Brook also survived late in the innings, while several inaccurate throws towards the wicketkeeper reflected a lack of sharpness on the field. Apart from Shivam Dube’s two late wickets when the damage was already done, India had little to celebrate as England posted a colossal first innings score.
Brief Scores: England 257/3 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 131, Harry Brook 95 not out) beat India 201/8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 56; Tilak Varma 53; Sam Curran 2/29) by 56 runs.
