IND vs ENG: Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana impress in player ratings for 4th T20 but Sanju Samson fails again

India edged past England in a see-saw encounter in Pune to clinch the five-match T20I series. Put into bat, India lost early wickets and were reduced to 79-5 inside 11 overs. Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, though, stitched together a magnificent partnership and ensured India made it past 180.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧. 𝗔. 𝗪𝗜𝗡! 👏 👏#TeamIndia held their composure & sealed a 1⃣5⃣-run victory in the 4th T20I to bag the series, with a game to spare! 🙌 🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/pUkyQwxOA3 #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Jjz5Cem2US

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 31, 2025

The second innings had a controversial tone to it, with Dube, concussed after being struck on the helmet, replaced by Harshit Rana, who went on to pick up three wickets. Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy were not shabby either, and the troika ensured Harry Brook’s fifty went in vain.

Here is how the Indian players fared:

Aced the test: Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy

Even the best have bad days. Days when they do not reach the levels they can and where their decision-making leaves lots to be desired. But those belonging to the highest echelon find a way to bounce back. And that is exactly what Hardik did.

𝙄. 𝘾. 𝙔. 𝙈. 𝙄

Varun Chakaravarthy's double-wicket over! 👏 👏

Follow The Match ▶️ https://t.co/pUkyQwxOA3 #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @chakaravarthy29 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/J53gV0kFdZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 31, 2025

He took his time again. But in Pune, he unleashed his onslaught perfectly. He took on pace, found or cleared the fence at regular intervals and was proactive too, often using the crease and dancing down the track. That sort of counter-punching, because of its duration, powered India past 180, while also helping his partner at the other end…

Dube can smash spin. Everyone knows it. And that is precisely why he was preferred in Pune: to put pressure on Adil Rashid. He did that to the tee, belting Rashid for two fours and two sixes. Rashid conceded 35 in Pune - more than what he had in Chennai and Rajkot put together.

What was more refreshing, though, was the way he handled the other bowlers. There were deft touches, a few strokes accessing the ‘V’ behind the stumps and a general tendency to be productive against the pacers, even if he did not look very comfortable.

Dube’s performance, of course, cannot be chronicled without mentioning the man who replaced him later in the evening…

At 6:30 pm IST on Friday, there was no chance Harshit would have been on this list. He had been left out of the eleven, with India happy to field a solitary front-line pacer.

But once Dube was diagnosed with concussion, India, somehow (read very dubiously) managed to convince those in-charge of approving replacements that Rana, a front-line pacer who bowls at least ten clicks quicker than Dube, was a like-for-like substitute.

That debate, of course, will rage long after this series is done, with its rightness and legality bound to be questioned. But from a cricketing perspective, Harshit did what he was asked to do: win India the game after being thrown into the deep end. And he did so by accounting for Livingstone, Bethell and Overton, all of whom could have taken the game away from India.

Oh, and among all of that, Bishnoi and Chakravarthy turned up again. While Chakravarthy went wicket-less in his first three overs (only to return with a game-changing over that saw Brook and Brydon Carse dismissed) Bishnoi rocked England with the scalps of Duckett and Jos Buttler – moments that enabled India to squeeze England out of the game and the series.

India have relied on them so much that they have started with just one front-line seamer all series.

Partially met expectations: Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel

Plenty happened in the first two overs. The only thing that went India’s way, though, was Abhishek’s majestic six over point off Jofra Archer. Post that, he watched in disbelief as three of his mates perished without adding a single run in the second over.

But rather than trying to consolidate, Abhishek, alongside Rinku, fought fire with fire. Abhishek seemed set for a big knock until, in a split-second, it was all over.

Rinku’s knock ended a little abruptly too, falling to the short ball that had begun troubling him. In an ideal world, both would have wanted to carry on but it was a vital partnership that helped India spot a shore, having been marooned by England’s raw pace earlier.

Axar, too, showed resolve to recover from a tough first over, tying up Phil Salt and ultimately getting rid of him. It was a display that may not make highlight reels but was effective in its own way.

Did not meet expectations: Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Arshdeep Singh

If you do not succeed at first, try again. If you fail the second time, keep trying because things can change in a trice in sport. But when three failures trot up, all because of the same error in judgement, maybe recalibrating is the wiser option.

Samson had that opportunity in Pune. But he did not take it. England bowled hard lengths at him, denied him room and he looked to attack the leg-side, only to perish. Again. A familiar dismissal, following an eerily congruent theme.

The only difference was that a bowler not named Archer dismissed him on Friday. And to cap off his woeful evening, he dropped Jamie Overton in the penultimate over of the match, although it did not cost India. It was another dire and score-less evening with the bat for Suryakumar. He walked in with the contest craving a captain’s knock but could not grab the game by the scruff of its neck.

He seemed indecisive and perished to a half-hearted flick shot. On most days, that would have flown to the fence, but on Friday, the burden of not scoring enough caught up with him. Suryakumar has the pedigree to break out of this rut. That needs to happen soon, though.

Tilak, on the other hand, has been among the runs. In Pune, that, ironically, may have led to his undoing. He hared down the track to the first ball he faced and whooshed at it wildly, only managing a slice to deep third. In his defence, he was trying to transfer the pressure onto the bowlers, which has its virtues, as others showed later. It did not quite come off for Tilak, however, and left India in a greater spot of bother than when he strode out.

Arshdeep did not have his best outing in Pune either. His lines and lengths were wayward and he was expensive. India still won, and it will not be a surprise if Arshdeep clicks into top gear the next time he dons the blue.