IND vs ENG, 5th T20: Abhishek leads the way as all-round India thrash England by 150 runs, complete 4-1 series win

Abhishek Sharma smashed a blistering century while Mohammed Shami collected a wicket in an Indian jersey for the first time in over a year as Team India thrashed England by 150 runs in the fifth and final T20I in Mumbai to complete a 4-1 series victory.

Abhishek was the toast of India’s clinical all-round performance at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, with the explosive opener bringing up his second century in international cricket in just 37 deliveries – the second-fastest by an Indian batter. His knock, which comprised a staggering 13 sixes and seven fours, helped the Men in Blue post a mammoth 247/9 on the board after they were invited to bat by opposition skipper Jos Buttler.

Well played @IamAbhiSharma4! That's where I want to see you! 🔥 Proud of you 👊🏻💯#IndVSEng

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) February 2, 2025

The Sunrisers Hyderabad batter, who had smashed a match-winning 79 in the series opener in Kolkata, helped India race to 95/1 at the end of the powerplay and move past the century mark just three balls later, both of which would turn out to be new records for the Men in Blue in the format.

The 24-year-old, who had brought up his maiden century in just his second international appearance during the T20I series in Zimbabwe in July last year, added 115 for the second wicket with Tilak Varma (24 off 15 balls) and would eventually depart in the final delivery of the 18th over.

Shami back with a bang for Men in Blue

The visitors would later begin their innings on a promising note, with opener Phil Salt smashing two fours and a six off Mohammed Shami in the first three deliveries of their chase.

The two-time T20 world champions, however, would lose wickets in a heap after racing to 48/1 at the end of four overs, losing nine wickets for just 49 runs in the next 6.3 overs to get bundled out for 97, crumbling to the second-biggest defeat for a Full Member in T20Is as a result.

Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 3/25 – collecting his first international wicket since the 2023 ICC World Cup final against Australia by removing opener Ben Duckett – while Shivam Dube (2/11), Abhishek (2/3) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/25) chipped in with a couple of wickets each.

For the visitors, opener Salt scored more than half of the runs as he blasted 55 runs in just 23 deliveries, striking at 239.13 with the help of seven fours and three sixes. All-rounder Dube, who was controversially substituted by pacer Harshit Rana in Rajkot on Friday, ended his spirited knock with an off-cutter that Salt ended up getting a thick outside edge off, resulting in a simple catch for substitute keeper Dhruv Jurel.

Salt’s dismissal proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Englishmen as they ended up losing their last six wickets for just 15 runs.

With the T20I series coming to an end, both teams turn their attention to the three-match ODI series, which gets underway in Nagpur on Thursday and will serve as a dress rehearsal for the ICC Champions Trophy for both teams.

Under-fire India skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli – both of whom had retired from the shortest international format after helping India win the T20 World Cup in June last year – will be part of the action in the one-dayers, as will veteran England batter Joe Root.

Brief scores:

India 247/9 after 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 135; Brydon Carse 3/38, Mark Wood 2/32) defeated England 97 in 10.3 overs (Phil Salt 55; Mohammed Shami 3/25; Abhishek Sharma 2/3, Shivam Dube 2/11) by 150 runs to win the five-match series 4-1.