IND vs ENG: Things fall apart as Shreyas Iyer's India lose second straight T20I series
England sealed the T20I series against India with a commanding nine-wicket win in the 4th T20I, condemning Shreyas Iyer's side to back-to-back series defeats. This is the first time India have lost back to back T20I series since the 2018/19 season.
A listless Indian team were blown away by Harry Brook's England on Thursday, July 9, in Bristol. The hosts hammered Shreyas Iyer's side by nine wickets in the fourth T20I, sealing the series in the most ruthless fashion at the County Ground.
It was too easy for England, who chased down the target of 159 in just 13.5 overs, handing India and Shreyas Iyer their fifth loss in six games. The defeat meant that India lost consecutive T20I series for the first time in nearly seven years. The last time the Men in Blue lost back-to-back T20I series was in the 2018-19 season, when the Virat Kohli-led side lost 1-2 to New Zealand before suffering a 0-2 whitewash at home against Australia.
IND vs ENG Highlights, 4th T20I
SHREYAS FIGHTS, BUT INDIA BATTERS CLUELESS
India captain Shreyas Iyer could hardly be faulted for the defeat as he single-handedly kept India in the game, scoring more than half of the team's runs while wickets fell around him. The Indian batting line-up was a jumble once again, with Shivam Dube coming in at No. 5, Tilak Varma at No. 6, and Axar Patel inexplicably batting at No. 8.
The result was expected, as usual. None of the batters, barring Shreyas (80* off 49), got going, which meant that only one Indian batter scored at a strike rate of over 150 in the match.
The Indian batters had little clue about which areas to target and looked far behind in terms of preparation. India did not play a single lap shot, targeting the short fine-leg boundary, which turned out to be a go-to option for the English batters in the second innings.
INDIA'S INEXPLICABLE BATTING ORDER
The India captain came up with a heroic knock, as he often does for his IPL franchise, Punjab Kings, when they are in trouble. Shreyas kept the scoreboard moving and chose his match-ups well as India searched for inspiration to come out of their slump.
But with the top order once again departing cheaply, and the batting order completely jumbled, India looked like prisoners of their own plans.
Take, for example, Tilak Varma, a batter with two T20I hundreds at No. 3, who was sent in to bat at No. 6 behind Shivam Dube. The India vice-captain never found any momentum and survived only eight balls before being undone by a change of pace from Joshua Tongue.
INDIA'S SHORT BALL PROBLEM IS BACK
England kept it fairly simple against India once again in the fourth T20I. Jofra Archer and Tongue targeted India with short balls and picked up the wickets of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Vaibhav once again provided a brief spark but lost his wicket to Archer once again, this time for 15.
Kishan (4 off 6) inspired little confidence with his stroke-making and was undone by the extra bounce on the Bristol pitch. Star opener Abhishek Sharma started conservatively, hoping to convert a steady start into a big score, but lost his wicket to Adil Rashid while trying to heave the spinner out of the ground.
From there on, it was just harakiri, as the confused Indian batting line-up never quite got going for the rest of the innings.
WHAT HAPPENS TO SHREYAS IYER?
The defeat is a terrible blot on Shreyas Iyer's captaincy, with the skipper continuing to remain winless in his first six matches as India's T20I captain. Shreyas' measured batting might have rescued India in the first innings, but that did not translate into an inspiring performance with the ball in the second.
Early no-balls from Prasidh Krishna and Prince Yadav set the tone for India while defending 159 and nullified Arshdeep Singh's early breakthrough with the wicket of Jos Buttler.
After Buttler's dismissal, Harry Brook and Phil Salt took charge of the innings. After settling in for a couple of overs, Brook really turned up the heat on India in the eighth over, smashing 19 runs off Washington Sundar.
It was a landslide from there, with the pair adding 146 runs together before finishing off the chase in 13.5 overs.
Shreyas Iyer was seen having a long chat with Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak at the end of the match before admitting that he was very disappointed with his team's performance.
Iyer, however, added that this is a new Indian team and that they will make mistakes before finding their feet again.
With the win, England not only sealed the T20I series but also dethroned India as the No. 1-ranked T20I side in the world.
A listless Indian team were blown away by Harry Brook's England on Thursday, July 9, in Bristol. The hosts hammered Shreyas Iyer's side by nine wickets in the fourth T20I, sealing the series in the most ruthless fashion at the County Ground.
It was too easy for England, who chased down the target of 159 in just 13.5 overs, handing India and Shreyas Iyer their fifth loss in six games. The defeat meant that India lost consecutive T20I series for the first time in nearly seven years. The last time the Men in Blue lost back-to-back T20I series was in the 2018-19 season, when the Virat Kohli-led side lost 1-2 to New Zealand before suffering a 0-2 whitewash at home against Australia.
IND vs ENG Highlights, 4th T20I
SHREYAS FIGHTS, BUT INDIA BATTERS CLUELESS
India captain Shreyas Iyer could hardly be faulted for the defeat as he single-handedly kept India in the game, scoring more than half of the team's runs while wickets fell around him. The Indian batting line-up was a jumble once again, with Shivam Dube coming in at No. 5, Tilak Varma at No. 6, and Axar Patel inexplicably batting at No. 8.
The result was expected, as usual. None of the batters, barring Shreyas (80* off 49), got going, which meant that only one Indian batter scored at a strike rate of over 150 in the match.
The Indian batters had little clue about which areas to target and looked far behind in terms of preparation. India did not play a single lap shot, targeting the short fine-leg boundary, which turned out to be a go-to option for the English batters in the second innings.
INDIA'S INEXPLICABLE BATTING ORDER
The India captain came up with a heroic knock, as he often does for his IPL franchise, Punjab Kings, when they are in trouble. Shreyas kept the scoreboard moving and chose his match-ups well as India searched for inspiration to come out of their slump.
But with the top order once again departing cheaply, and the batting order completely jumbled, India looked like prisoners of their own plans.
Take, for example, Tilak Varma, a batter with two T20I hundreds at No. 3, who was sent in to bat at No. 6 behind Shivam Dube. The India vice-captain never found any momentum and survived only eight balls before being undone by a change of pace from Joshua Tongue.
INDIA'S SHORT BALL PROBLEM IS BACK
England kept it fairly simple against India once again in the fourth T20I. Jofra Archer and Tongue targeted India with short balls and picked up the wickets of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Vaibhav once again provided a brief spark but lost his wicket to Archer once again, this time for 15.
Kishan (4 off 6) inspired little confidence with his stroke-making and was undone by the extra bounce on the Bristol pitch. Star opener Abhishek Sharma started conservatively, hoping to convert a steady start into a big score, but lost his wicket to Adil Rashid while trying to heave the spinner out of the ground.
From there on, it was just harakiri, as the confused Indian batting line-up never quite got going for the rest of the innings.
WHAT HAPPENS TO SHREYAS IYER?
The defeat is a terrible blot on Shreyas Iyer's captaincy, with the skipper continuing to remain winless in his first six matches as India's T20I captain. Shreyas' measured batting might have rescued India in the first innings, but that did not translate into an inspiring performance with the ball in the second.
Early no-balls from Prasidh Krishna and Prince Yadav set the tone for India while defending 159 and nullified Arshdeep Singh's early breakthrough with the wicket of Jos Buttler.
After Buttler's dismissal, Harry Brook and Phil Salt took charge of the innings. After settling in for a couple of overs, Brook really turned up the heat on India in the eighth over, smashing 19 runs off Washington Sundar.
It was a landslide from there, with the pair adding 146 runs together before finishing off the chase in 13.5 overs.
Shreyas Iyer was seen having a long chat with Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak at the end of the match before admitting that he was very disappointed with his team's performance.
Iyer, however, added that this is a new Indian team and that they will make mistakes before finding their feet again.
With the win, England not only sealed the T20I series but also dethroned India as the No. 1-ranked T20I side in the world.
