Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 80 lifts India to 158/7 against England in fourth T20I

Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 80 rescued India after another top-order collapse, helping the visitors post 158/7 against England in the must-win fourth T20I at Bristol. England's disciplined pace attack, led by Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, kept India's scoring under control throughout

Bristol: Skipper Shreyas Iyer played a lone hand with a counter-attacking unbeaten 80 off 49 balls, but a disciplined England bowling attack restricted a stuttering Indian batting line-up to a below-par 158/7 in their must-win fourth T20I at the County Ground in Bristol on Thursday.

Electing to bat first, India were rocked early by Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, who used the short ball effectively. The rest of England’s bowlers maintained the pressure, ensuring India finished below 160 while conceding no boundaries in the final two overs.

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With India’s batters again falling to pull shots and failing to build partnerships, Iyer stood firm, anchoring the innings with an unbeaten knock featuring four fours and five sixes.

The sun-baked conditions in Bristol demanded precise shot selection because of the short straight boundaries and longer square boundaries. However, India’s aggressive Powerplay approach backfired against the extra bounce generated by England’s pacers.

Openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (15) and Abhishek Sharma (16) took 15 runs off Josh Tongue’s opening over, but the momentum was short-lived.

Archer (2/20) struck first by dismissing Sooryavanshi, who holed out to mid-on while attempting a pull shot. Tongue (2/36) then removed Ishan Kishan (4), who top-edged another short ball. Spinner Adil Rashid added to India’s woes by dismissing Abhishek with a return catch in his first over, leaving India at 48/3 in 6.4 overs.

Captain Iyer rebuilt the innings alongside Shivam Dube (22), with the pair adding 53 runs for the fourth wicket to take India past the 100-run mark. However, England maintained tight control on the spongy surface before Will Jacks broke the partnership by dismissing Dube.

Tilak Varma (11) failed to accelerate the scoring and fell to Tongue’s change of pace. With little support from the lower order, Iyer shifted gears in the 18th over, smashing Rashid for two sixes and a four in a 20-run over to bring up his half-century off 33 balls.

Just when India looked set for a strong finish, Sam Curran produced an outstanding penultimate over, conceding only four runs. Archer then wrapped up the innings by dismissing Washington Sundar (5) before producing a sharp piece of fielding to run out Axar Patel (1), leaving England a target of 159 for victory and a series win.

Brief scores: India 158/7 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 80*; Shivam Dube 22; Jofra Archer 2/20, Josh Tongue 2/36) vs England.