Pune, Jan 31 (UNI) A spirited fightback from Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya helped India recover from a disastrous start to post a competitive 181/9 in the fourth T20I against England here on Friday.
Inserted to bat, India suffered an early collapse as Saqib Mahmood, playing his first match of the series, struck with a triple-wicket maiden in the very first over.
Sanju Samson fell to a short ball, in-form Tilak Varma departed for a golden duck in an attempt to attack, while Suryakumar Yadav’s lean patch continued as he perished for a four-ball duck, leaving the hosts reeling at 7/3.
Despite the early setbacks, debutant Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh batted with positive intent, maintaining India's run rate around eight runs per over. However, England kept striking at regular intervals, with Brydon Carse dismissing Rinku (30 off 26) with a sharp bouncer, reducing India to 79/5.
The rescue act came from allrounders Dube (53 off 34) and Pandya (53 off 30), who steadied the innings before launching a counterattack. While Dube played Adil Rashid cautiously, Pandya took his time before accelerating. The duo notched up crucial half-centuries, peppering the boundaries in the latter half of the innings to propel India past the 180-run mark.
With a competitive total on the board, India will now look to challenge England’s formidable batting lineup. The focus will be on Phil Salt’s battle against Arshdeep Singh’s swing and the effectiveness of India’s spinners in the middle overs.
UNI BDN GNK