Hardik, Bishnoi star as India beat England, clinch series 3-1

Coming in at No 7, Hardik Pandya was stylish and destructive in equal measure hitting four boundaries and an equal number of maximums in his 30-ball-53

Pune: India beat England by 15 runs to clinch the series here on Friday. Earlier, Hardik Pandya’s breathtaking blows and comeback man Shivam Dube’s belligerence took India to a par-score of 181 for 9 after the top-order failed to negotiate the short-of-length deliveries bowled by England pacers in the fourth T20 International here on Friday.

Coming in at No 7, Pandya was stylish and destructive in equal measure hitting four boundaries and an equal number of maximums in his 30-ball-53. Dube (53 off 34 balls) also didn’t do too badly in a stand of 87 off 48 balls for the sixth wicket after pacer Saqib Mahmood (3/35 in 4 overs) reduced India to 12 for 3 by the end of the second over.

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Dube was coming back into national colours after bagging a pair in a Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir last week. But Pandya, who many feel can take MS Dhoni’s role as a finisher, began with an aggressive approach, then rotated the strike for a few overs before launching a brutal final assault on the English bowlers.

However, his innings was cut short by one shot too many. He got an able ally in Dube, who hit seven fours and two sixes as India got as many as 109 runs in the back-10. Mahmood, playing his first game of the series, struck thrice in his first over and all three were well-planned dismissals. By now, the world knows about Sanju Samson’s (1) susceptibility against quick bowling, especially those pitched on either hard length or back of the length.

Mahmood bowled one slightly back of length and the short arm pull went straight into the palms of Brydon Carse at deep fine leg boundary. In-form Tilak Varma (0) was out first ball as he tried to use the pace and slash it over third man.

The most well-thought-out dismissal was certainly skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s (0), who is undergoing the worst slump in his international career. Jos Buttler stationed a short mid-wicket fielder to exploit the Indian skipper’s propensity to hit the uppish-flick shot.