Sport Writer Oscar Frost reports on the fourth T20 between India and England, as a fine display from Suryakumar Yadav helped the hosts level the series
After a great win in the third match, England were hoping to put the series to bed by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. In an attempt to sustain their momentum, there were no changes in the England camp, whereas India brought in Suryakumar Yadav to replace the injured Ishan Kishan, and Rahul Chahar to switch up their bowling attack. The previous three matches had yielded three victories for the side that fielded first after winning the toss, so it was no surprise that Eoin Morgan decided to put India in when he called correctly.
The Indian opening partnership began relatively well, until Rohit Sharma chipped the ball back to Jofra Archer when on 12 off as many balls. In only his second innings for India, Yadav came out all guns blazing as he pulled Archer for six off his very first ball. KL Rahul and Yadav seemed to be building a strong partnership, but Rahul was cheaply dismissed as Archer hung on to a relatively simple catch. Next came Virat Kohli, who had scored over 70 runs in each of his last two innings in the series, and with Yadav batting very well it seemed as though the captain would have a partner to keep pace with him. It was third time unlucky for Kohli, however, as he was stumped by Jos Buttler after an Adil Rashid googly.
Yadav smashed his way to 50 from just 28 balls
Yadav was undeterred by the dismissal of his captain, as he smashed his way to 50 from just 28 balls – a fantastic knock for such an inexperienced player. A slog-swept six brought him to the milestone, but the same shot on the next ball was given out controversially. The soft out signal of out by the on-field umpire had to be upheld by the third umpire, because the replays were inconclusive in revealing whether Dawid Malan had got his fingers underneath the ball to claim a low catch.
Rishabh Pant (30) and Shreyas Iyer (37) kept the pressure on the English. England managed to curb some of India’s momentum through a sensational one-handed grab from Ben Stokes to dismiss Hardik Pandya, as well as Archer being able to secure his best T20 international bowling figures (4-33) with two late wickets. A total of 185-8 meant that the tourists had an uphill climb to clinch the series but, after Buttler’s masterclass in the previous match, all was not lost.
Roy’s inability to convert his starts into match-winning scores is a slight concern
Buttler was the first to fall of the English openers, however, as he was caught by Rahul for just nine. Malan’s disappointing form then continued, as the world number one attempted to play himself in, before being bowled by Chahar for 14 off 17 – a disappointing score and strike-rate. Jason Roy managed to get some momentum going at the top of the order, hitting his way to 40 off 27 before being caught by Yadav. Roy scored useful runs throughout the series, but his inability to convert his starts into match-winning scores is a slight concern. Similarly to Malan, Stokes and Jonny Bairstow started relatively slowly, but managed to find the boundary later in their innings. In particular, Stokes smashed three huge sixes to get to 46, but it seemed fitting that he was caught on the boundary at long off to end his cameo.
Morgan and Sam Curran were both sent packing with single-figure scores and, despite great late efforts from Archer and Chris Jordan, England fell eight runs short in their chase. The India bowling contingent was certainly impressive – Pandya deserves special praise for an economy of just four runs per over, as well as taking two wickets. Despite this, it is hard to look any further than Yadav for man of the match, as his 57 runs and two catches were crucial to India’s victory.
For the neutrals, this was the perfect result in setting up a decider in Ahmedabad on Saturday. For the English, it will be interesting to see whether they stay with the same side or try to bring in some fresh legs to make the difference in such a pivotal game. As far as the Indian side goes, their reliance on Kohli in the last matches seems like less of an issue but the pressure will, as always, be on their iconic captain to lead the charge in the final game.
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