India vs England, Highlights, 4th T20I at Ahmedabad, Full cricket score: Shardul Thakur stars as hosts level series 2-2 after nervy finish

After 20 overs,England 177/8 ( Jofra Archer 18 , Adil Rashid 0)

23 needed off six as Shardul steams into the last over of the innings. The seamer misses out on a yorker off the second and Archer powers it down the ground for a four. India get a dry new ball with four deliveries to go. Can this work in England’s favour? The third delivery is a short one and Jofra dispatches it into the stands. Two consecutive wides off the fourth, Shardul is clearly under pressure here. Jofra’s bat is broken off the fifth delivery but thankfully for India, it’s just a single. A knuckle ball off the fifth from Shardul as Jordan holes out to Hardik at long off. A dot to end the over.

India have beaten England by eight runs and the five-match series stands levelled at 2-2.

After 19 overs,England 163/7 ( Chris Jordan 11 , Jofra Archer 7)

Bhuvneshwar into the 19th over of the innings. Archer joins Jordan in the middle after Curran’s departure. The ball’s damp and the Indian bowlers have been clever with their change of pace, especially in the last few overs. Archer brings down the equation to 23 off 6 balls as he smacks a four off the last ball. 10 runs off the over.

After 18 overs,England 153/7 ( Chris Jordan 9 , Jofra Archer 0)

Pandya returns to the attack. Right, both Curran and Jordan can bat but the question is whether they can handle the pressure of the required run rate. Pandya digs the third one short, Jordan miscues it but luckily for him, the ball falls in no-man’s land. Curran gets clean bowled off the last, once again, the change of pace doing the trick for Pandya. Six runs and a wicket off the over.

After 17 overs,England 147/6 ( Sam Curran 1 , Chris Jordan 6)

Shardul continues and he gets India back in the game. Two slower off cutters from the seamer and he removes Stokes and Morgan off successive deliveries. Both the batsman handed simple catches to the fielders in the deep. Jordan, the new man in, collects a boundary off the fourth ball in the over. Two wickets and seven runs off it. Possibly the game-changing over from Shardul.

After 16 overs,England 140/4 ( Ben Stokes 46 , Eoin Morgan (C) 4)

Bhuvneshwar returns to the attack. Skipper Morgan joins Stokes at the crease after Bairstow’s departure. Stokes displays positive intent, steps down the track and pulls the third delivery for a boundary. Two dots to end the over, the ball hits Morgan’s pads on both occasions. Eight runs off the over.

After 15 overs,England 132/4 ( Ben Stokes 41 , Eoin Morgan (C) 1)

Chahar continues. The dew is making it difficult to grip the ball, especially for the spinners. This same was visible in this over as Stokes collected a four and a six in the over. Bairstow throws his wicket away as charges down the track and slices the fifth delivery straight to Sundar at point. 14 runs and a wicket off the over.

After 14 overs,England 118/3 ( Jonny Bairstow 25 , Ben Stokes 28)

Sundar gets whacked for three boundaries, two fours and a maximum, from the blade of Bairstow, who seems to have found his touch and is now timing the ball well. Meanwhile, the Stokes-Bairstow stand is worth 52 at the end of the over. Sundar has terrible figures to show, he’s conceded over 50 for the first time in his T20I career.

After 13 overs,England 100/3 ( Jonny Bairstow 8 , Ben Stokes 27)

Chahar continues. Bairstow is looking to muscle the ball rather than timing it at the moment. His batting partner Stokes, continues to look impressive as he smokes the penultimate delivery of the over above the sightscreen. Nine runs off the over. Meanwhile, the 100 is up for England.

After 12 overs,England 91/3 ( Jonny Bairstow 6 , Ben Stokes 20)

Spin operating in tandem at the moment as Sundar continues from one end. Stokes showcases his brute force as he collects a four and a six off the first and last deliveries of the over. 12 runs off the over, another costly one.

After 11 overs,England 79/3 ( Jonny Bairstow 5 , Ben Stokes 9)

Chahar returns to the attack. He has replaced Chahal, who was guilty of leaking three runs in the first three games. Eight runs off the over. Good over from the leggie as he created two wicket-taking opportunities in the over. The ball landed just short of Iyer at square leg on one of them, while Stokes wasn’t in control of a reverse sweep too. Eight runs off the over.

After 10 overs,England 71/3 ( Jonny Bairstow 3 , Ben Stokes 3)

Quiet over from Sundar, with the batsman managing five runs off it, through three single and a double. Right, at the halfway stage of England’s innings, they’re just about where India were in theirs.

After 9 overs, England 66/3 ( Ben Stokes 0, Jonny Bairstow 1)

Pandya returns to the attack. Gives width off the first to Roy, who steers it towards deep backward point for a four. Pandya continues to mix up his pace and lengths well, conceding just two off the remaining five deliveries, and dismissing the well-set Roy with a short delivery. Suryakumar made no mistake in the deep. Six runs and a wicket off the over.

Rahul Chahar in middle-overs (7-15) in IPL-2020:

Wickets : 13
ER : 8.26
Avg. : 29.2
SR : 21.2

After 8 overs,England 60/2 ( Jason Roy 35 , Jonny Bairstow 0)

Rahul Chahar comes into the attack. Starts off with a short delivery, Roy misses out and can only manages a single there. Fantastic fielding effort by Rohit on the off side as he collects the ball with one hand and gets in a sharp throw straight to Pant, restricting the batsman to only a single. Appeal for stumping by Pant off the fourth delivery, but Malan got his foot back just in time. Malan gets out, clean bowled, paying the price of playing a reverse sweep against a beautifully bowled googly. Superb over from Chahar, four runs and a wicket off it.

After 7 overs,England 56/1 ( Jason Roy 33 , Dawid Malan 13)

Right, end of the powerplay and Shardul Thakur returns to the attack. Three slower ones from him in the over, Malan gets beaten on two, while collecting a six off one. Eight runs off the over.

After 6 overs,England 48/1 ( Jason Roy 33 , Dawid Malan 5)

Final over of the powerplay and Washington Sundar comes into the attack. He has been the standout bowler for India in the series thus far. Poor bowling from Sundar as Roy collects three boundaries, two fours and a six, in the over. He either went too full or short and paid the price. 17 runs off the over. Costly over for India.

After 5 overs,England 31/1 ( Jason Roy 17 , Dawid Malan 4)

Hardik Pandya from the Reliance End now. Clever change of pace from him off the second as he beats Malan off the second. It is followed by a slower bouncer, Malan plays the pull but can only manage a single. Pandya once again, takes the pace off the ball, this time against Roy, who was beaten there but still sneaked a single. Chance of a catch at short third man, Shardul, the man in the region, jumps and gets a hand to it but it eventually pops out. Hardik and Kohli aren’t happy and signal that Shardul should have used both his hands while going for the catch. Three runs off the over.

After 4 overs,England 28/1 ( Jason Roy 16 , Dawid Malan 2)

Shardul Thakur comes into the attack. A thick inside edge allows Roy to collect a boundary off the second delivery. Good bowling from Shardul as he induces Roy’s outside edge off the fourth delivery, but the ball races towards third man for another boundary. Expensive over from Shardul, 13 runs off his first.

After 3 overs,England 15/1 ( Jason Roy 5 , Dawid Malan 0)

Eventful over from Bhuvneshwar as he conceded a four and a six from the blade of Roy and Buttler, but eventually removed Buttler, the big fish, with a leg cutter. A leading edge caused Buttler’s dismissal there. 13 runs and a wicket in that over.

After 2 overs,England 2/0 ( Jason Roy 1 , Jos Buttler (W) 1)

Surprise! Hardik Pandya comes into the attack in the second over. Buttler clips the first off his pads for a single. After two dots, Roy gets off strike as he hits the ball down the ground. Two dots to end the over, with Buttler swinging and missing off the last delivery. Two runs off the over. Pandya does well to sustain the pressure from the other end.

After 1 over, ENG 0/0 (Roy 0, Buttler 0)

Bhuvneshwar with the new ball for India. Hint of swing off the first delivery, which shapes away from Roy, the right-hander. Roy defends the next two deliveries. The right-hander tries to drill the ball down the ground off the fourth but gets no timing on it as the ball goes straight to mid-on. Superb bowling by Bhuvneshwar as he begins with a maiden over.

After 20 overs,India 185/8 ( Shardul Thakur 10 , Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0)

India finish at 185-8, but could be some 15-20 runs short. Archer came back and scalped two wickets, seeing off Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar in this over, as the hosts still managed 11 runs off it. The Men in Blue might rue giving away wickets towards the end to disable them from reaching 200, and their bowlers will have a big task of defending this total. Do join us in a few minutes for the chase

After 19 overs,India 174/6 ( Shreyas Iyer 37 , Shardul Thakur 4)

Wood returns for his final over. Shreyas rotates the strike to Hardik in the first ball, who picks up a couple more in the next ball. However, Wood removes Hardik few balls later thanks to an acrobatic catch from Stokes. Shardul Thakur comes in and begins with a boundary.

After 19 overs,India 174/6 ( Shreyas Iyer 37 , Shardul Thakur 4)

Wood returns for his final over. Shreyas rotates the strike to Hardik in the first ball, who picks up a couple more in the next ball. However, Wood removes Hardik few balls later thanks to an acrobatic catch from Stokes. Shardul Thakur comes in and begins with a boundary.

After 18 overs,India 167/5 ( Shreyas Iyer 36 , Hardik Pandya 9)

Jordan is back. Hardik Pandya punishes him in the first ball with a six over the fine-leg boundary. Three balls later, Shreyas drives straight down the ground for a boundary. He then follows it up with another beauty of a maximum over extra-cover. Nightmarish over for England, with 18 runs off it.

After 17 overs,India 149/5 ( Shreyas Iyer 25 , Hardik Pandya 2)

Archer continues. Pant smashes him for a boundary towards long-off in the second ball, but Archer in the very next ball cleans him up, removing Pant. Hardik Pandya joins Shreyas in the middle. Nine runs off it.

After 16 overs,India 140/4 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 26 , Shreyas Iyer 22)

Mark Wood continues. Wood with a 144 kph short ball to Shreyas Iyer, who picks a boundary through deep mid-wicket. Shreyas once again finds the gap through to third man in the over’s last ball. 12 off the over.

India 128-4 after 15 overs (Shreyas Iyer 11, Rishabh Pant 25)

Jordan continues, and eight runs come off the over. Pant with a boundary over the leg side as India look for a flying finish to their innings.

After 14 overs,India 120/4 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 19 , Shreyas Iyer 9)

England get rid of Suryakumar finally as he is caught by Dawid Malan in the deep off Sam Curran’s bowling. Malan seemed to ground the ball after completing the catch, and the soft signal was out. The decision was referred to the third umpire, who did not have a conclusive evidence to reverse the decision. Shreyas Iyer is in and is off the mark with two boundaries.

After 13 overs,India 104/3 ( Suryakumar Yadav 51 , Rishabh Pant (W) 18)

Pant finds the gap through mid-wicket from Stokes’ first ball of the over for a four, and the result is the same in the fourth ball as Pant smashes wide of mid-off. Two fours in the over, with 12 runs off it.

Fifties on T20I debut innings for India:

Robin Uthappa

Rohit Sharma

Ajinkya Rahane

Ishan Kishan

Suryakumar Yadav*

After 12 overs,India 92/3 ( Suryakumar Yadav 50 , Rishabh Pant (W) 7

Suryakumar brings up his maiden T20I fifty in style, and he is literally punishing Rashid here. Two fours from Yadav this over as India maintain momentum despite losing Kohli.

After 11 overs,India 79/3 ( Suryakumar Yadav 39 , Rishabh Pant (W) 5)

Jordan continues. Surya with a single towards long-on area. Third ball is an off-pace, slower ball which Surya nicks towards mid-off but fails to find the gap. Tidy stuff this with just four runs off it.

After 10 overs,India 75/3 ( Suryakumar Yadav 37 , Rishabh Pant (W) 3)

Stokes continues. Suryakumar tucks for a single through deep square-leg. To say the least, this Pant-Suryakumar stand will be key to India posting a challenging total as we complete the first-half of the Indian innings. Five off it.

After 9 overs,India 70/3 ( Suryakumar Yadav 35 , Rishabh Pant (W) 0)

Rashid continues. He finds another breakthrough with the dismissal of Virat Kohli, who was looking for a lofted shot, but eventually Rashid’s googly and Buttler’s brilliance did the trick. Rishabh Pant joins Suryakumar, with just two off it.

After 8 overs,India 68/2 ( Suryakumar Yadav 35 , Virat Kohli (C) 1)

Ben Stokes into the attack. Starts off with a wide to Suryakumar, who picks up two runs off the next ball. Rahul’s stint at the crease is short-lived as he, looking to loft over mid-off is caught by Archer. Virat Kohli is in at number four and is off the mark already. Nine runs and a wicket.

After 7 overs,India 59/1 ( KL Rahul 14 , Suryakumar Yadav 28)

Rashid returns. Suryakumar and Rahul keep rotating strike, with three singles off the first three balls. 11 runs come from the last three with a four and a six off Surya. 14 runs off it.

After 6 overs,India 45/1 ( KL Rahul 12 , Suryakumar Yadav 16)

Chris Jordan replaces Jofra Archer. Suryakumar begins with a single after picking Jordan’s short of a length ball. Rahul and Suryakumar are beginning to accelerate now, with a boundary each from both coming in the over. Expensive one as 11 come off it.

After 5 overs,India 34/1 ( KL Rahul 7 , Suryakumar Yadav 11)

Suryakumar brings a delicious boundary by punching through cover region. He looks in decent touch already, and once he gets going, it will be tough to remove him as we’ve seen in the IPL over the years. Seven runs off Wood’s latest over.

Suryakumar Yadav averages 43.4 and strikes at 137.6 in IPL batting at No.3. 

Golden opportunity for ‘SKY’ to make his mark here.

After 4 overs,India 27/1 ( KL Rahul 7 , Suryakumar Yadav 6)

Big breakthrough for England as Archer removes Rohit Sharma. Suryakumar Yadav comes in at three and starts with a maximyum over fine-leg. A wicket and eight runs off it.

After 3 overs,India 19/0 ( Rohit Sharma 11 , KL Rahul 6)

Mark Wood is introduced. Tidy stuff from the pacer, as he consistently bowls in speeds of 140s kph. Just that one run which Rohit picked via a leg-bye in the third ball.

Indian players with 9000-plus T20 runs:

Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma*

After 2 overs,India 18/0 ( Rohit Sharma 11 , KL Rahul 6

Jofra Archer is introduced into the attack. He begins with two consecutive dots to Rahul, who picks up a single off the next ball towards point region. Rahul finishes the over with his first boundary of the match. Six runs off it.

After 1 overs,India 12/0 ( Rohit Sharma 11 , KL Rahul 1)

India are off to a flying start, with Rohit Sharma looking promising. He slams a four and a six in the first over, as England introduce spin via Adil Rashid. Rohit just escapes being run-out in the final ball. 12 in the first over.

Will the hosts take this series down to the wire? 

First T20I ➞ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 won by 8 wickets
Second T20I ➞ 🇮🇳 won by 7 wickets
Third T20I ➞ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 won by 8 wickets
Fourth T20I ➞ ❓

Can India take the #INDvENG series into the decider? pic.twitter.com/4iWXHYXUgy

— ICC (@ICC) March 18, 2021

Teams

India playing XI: Virat Kohli(Captain), KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma,  Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant,  Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar. 

England playing XI: Eoin Morgan(Captain), Jos Buttler, Jason Roy,  Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes,  Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

A set Kohli is a boon for India in death overs, and his success will re-open the debate about his best batting position. From an Indian perspective, selection or strategy debate is the last thing they need at present with the series now on-the-line, let alone with the T20 World Cup in sight.

Read more on Chetan Narula’s analysis here

Following his stellar performance in the ongoing series against England, India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday broke back into the top five of the ICC T20I batsmen rankings. KL Rahul remains the top-ranked Indian batsmen at the fourth spot despite three failures in the series so far.

Click here to read more about the ICC T20I rankings

Skipper Eoin Morgan is one of the white-ball “pioneers”, who has propelled English cricket to a different level with his incredible leadership, reckons his deputy Jos Buttler. 

Click here to read more

Virat Kohli threw his weight behind struggling opener KL Rahul, calling him “a champion player” who remains the best candidate along with Rohit Sharma for the opening slot in the shortest format.

Click here to read what the Indian skipper said about the under-fire batsman

The Preview

India would aim to take the toss out of the equation and put up a much-improved all-round show against a formidable England in their to bid to level the series in the fourth T20I on Thursday.

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