Team India suffered back-to-back T20I series defeats for the first time since 2019 after slumping to a nine-wicket defeat to England in the fourth T20I on Thursday, July 9. Harry Brook’s England chased 159 in just 13.5 overs at County Ground, Bristol, to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
India won the toss and elected to bat first. However, their batting unit let them down once again, with skipper Shreyas Iyer being the only saving grace. He fought a lone battle, remaining unbeaten on 80 off 49 balls as the visitors posted 158/7 in 20 overs.
Pacers Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue bagged two wickets each. India got an early breakthrough, with Arshdeep Singh removing Jos Buttler in the third over. However, Brook took the game away with his blazing 79* off 35, while Salt finished with 59* off 42. Notably, England claimed their first-ever T20I series win over the Men in Blue.
Here, we look at three moments from the clash that had fans buzzing.
#3 Jofra Archer showcases football skills to run out Axar Patel
Jofra Archer bowled an excellent spell, conceding just 20 runs while picking the important wickets of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Washington Sundar. Apart from his bowling exploits, he was also in the limelight for a smart run-out.
Shreyas Iyer was beaten while trying to play the flick off Archer’s slower delivery on the final ball of the Indian innings. The ball struck his thigh and landed on the pitch.
Axar Patel sprinted from the non-striker’s end to sneak in a single. Archer showed great match awareness, running towards the ball and kicking it to the stumps for a direct hit. The Indian all-rounder was short of his crease, and the innings ended with a run-out.
Watch the video here:
#2 Shreyas Iyer sends Jofra Archer’s sharp bouncer for a six with an innovative shot
Jofra Archer bowled a well-directed short ball to Shreyas Iyer on the final ball of the eighth over. It was bowled at 141 kph, and Iyer used the express pace to his advantage by playing a smart upper-cut.
He crouched low and played it fine of the third man. He timed it wonderfully, and the ball landed outside the boundary ropes. Watch the video of the six here:
#1 Stump mic captures Team India stars Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma’s funny exchange
In the sixth over of the Indian innings, Shreyas Iyer played a length ball from Sam Curran on the off side and took a couple of steps before calling ‘No’. Abhishek was well outside his crease by then.
The southpaw had to put in a dive to return to his crease. The opening batter survived, and the stump mic caught him asking Iyer to give the call early. Watch the video of the exchange here:
Shreyas Iyer and Co. will look to salvage some pride by capping the series with a consolation victory. The final contest will take place at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday, July 11.
Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai