England produced a clinical all-round performance to outclass India by nine wickets in the fourth T20I at Bristol on Thursday, sealing the five-match series with an unassailable 3-0 lead. Chasing a modest target of 159, the hosts barely broke a sweat as Harry Brook and Phil Salt struck commanding half-centuries to complete the chase in just 14 overs. For India, it was a night to forget as the crushing defeat marked their second successive T20I series loss—the first time they have suffered back-to-back bilateral series defeats in the format since 2019—and an underwhelming start to Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy.
Shreyas Iyer wages lone battle
India endured another disappointing outing with the bat, posting a below-par 158/7 after being asked to bat first in the must-win fourth T20I against England at Bristol. The visitors lost wickets at regular intervals as Jofra Archer (2/20) and Josh Tongue (2/36) exploited the extra bounce on offer, while the rest of England’s attack kept the scoring in check. Openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma all departed cheaply, leaving India reeling at 48/3. Captain Shreyas Iyer waged a lone battle with an unbeaten 80 off 49 balls, striking four fours and five sixes to hold the innings together. He shared a 53-run stand with Shivam Dube (22) and accelerated brilliantly in the death overs, but lacked support from the other end. England finished strongly by conceding just four runs in the penultimate over and picking up two wickets in the final over, restricting India to a target of 159.
Harry Brook, Phil Salt finish demolition job
England took just 13.5 overs to seal the chase. Jos Buttler departed early but that was the only wicket India could take. Phil Salt initially took his time, whereas Brook was at his best, taking apart the Indian bowling attack with ease.
