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Abhishek Sharma’s masterful 135 off 54 deliveries consigned England to their heaviest-ever T20 defeat and spearheaded India to a 4-1 series victory in Mumbai.
England’s bowlers were battered from pillar to post as Abhishek produced a chanceless innings of crisp timing and power, creaming 13 of India’s 19 sixes to buttress a mammoth 247 for nine.
It was the second highest total England have conceded in T20s and, despite Phil Salt thumping 55 off 23 balls, the tourists haemorrhaged wickets and were all out for 97 in 10.3 overs to lose by 150 runs.
England have never before been beaten by three figures in this format – their previous worst was by 90 runs twice – although there is some mitigation as they needed to go for broke from the off.
The hosts’ margin of victory was largely due to Abhishek, who also thumped seven fours and claimed two wickets, on a grizzly evening for England’s bowlers in a contest that was a dead rubber after India sealed a series win in Pune on Friday.
While Brydon Carse claimed three for 38 and Mark Wood two for 32, the rest of the attack had an economy rate well into double figures, even if they dragged it back in the final 10 overs, where India added 104 after sitting on 143 for two at halfway, having been inserted when Jos Buttler won the toss again.
While Sanju Samson twice pulled Jofra Archer for six, he holed out on the pull for the fifth time in a row as Wood conceded just five from his opening burst. From there, though, Abhishek took top billing.
When Archer bowled short and wide, he was dispatched over deep point before Abhishek charged the next delivery and effortlessly lofted over the covers for another six.
As England erred in their lines and lengths, Abhishek obliged by carting them to or over the rope. Jamie Overton leaked 25 in his first over as Abhishek underpinned India’s T20 best powerplay score of 95 for one.
Not even Adil Rashid could keep a lid on proceedings as he was belted for back-to-back straight sixes but Carse went straight to his death bowling variations. He, too, went the distance off Abhishek but a lifter did for Tilak Varma, out for a much more pedestrian 24 off 15 balls.
Between overs 11 and 16, Abhishek faced just six balls, scoring seven runs, although Shivam Dube – bizarrely included despite failing a concussion test on Friday – thumped 30 off 13 balls.
England kept making inroads into India’s batting, with Carse snuffing out the threat of Dube and Suryakumar Yadav and Wood dismissing Hardik Pandya. While Abhishek sparked back into life by flaying Rashid for another two sixes, he misread a googly and toe-edged to Archer on the boundary.
India finished one run shy of Australia’s 248 for six against England in August 2013 and, with the tourists needing more than 12 an over, Salt twice drove the first offering from Mohammed Shami then pulled handsomely for six.
But Ben Duckett reaching out to his first delivery in Shami’s next over saw him spoon to cover to set the hares running.
Buttler recorded his third successive single-figure score when he lofted Varun Chakravarthy while Harry Brook’s troubles against spin continued when the Yorkshireman slapped Ravi Bishnoi to the fielder charging in from deep square-leg.
Chakravarthy took his tally to 14 wickets in five matches when he dismissed Liam Livingstone.
Dube then seemed to be pointedly introduced. The batting all-rounder was deemed unfit to field 48 hours earlier and controversially replaced by fast bowler Harshit Rana, seemingly flying in the face of regulations that state concussion substitutes must be like-for-like.
But with his first delivery, Dube’s gentle medium-pace swung away from Salt, who edged through to Dhruv Jurel, keeping in place of Samson.
It was a procession from that point forwards, with Dube claiming a second wicket when he rearranged the stumps of Jacob Bethell. Abhishek claimed the wickets of Carse and Overton, both of whom were caught in the deep as India romped to a commanding victory.
