Suryakumar Yadav, bowlers combine to help India draw level with close win
A brilliant fifty from Suryakumar Yadav was backed up by some excellent dew-defying bowling as India won the fourth T20I against England by eight runs. The result means India stay alive in the five-match series against England.
With the victory, India broke a pattern of the chasing team winning the matches in this series so far.
After Suryakumar Yadav (57 from 31) and Shreyas Iyer (37 from 18) helped India post a competitive 185 for 8, Hardik Pandya (2 for 16), Shardul Thakur (3 for 42) and Rahul Chahar (2 for 35) combined to restrict England to 177 for 8.
India started their defense extremely well, getting rid of last-match hero Jos Buttler (9) early in England’s chase. The wicketkeeper-batsman mistimed a slower ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar straight up in the air.
Thakur, however, dropped Dawid Malan on 3. The batsman tried to ramp one over short third man. The fielder leapt but failed to latch on as he went one-handed. Thakur had earlier conceded 13 in his first over.
After a couple of boundaries off the edge of the bat, Jason Roy swung into big-hitting mode by launching into Washington Sundar.
After sweeping one to backward square leg for four, he lofted the bowler over long-off for a maximum. Another four saw England ending the powerplay strongly, at 48 for 1.
Rahul Chahar, coming in for Yuzvendra Chahal, cleaned up Malan with a googly as the batsman made a complete mess of a reverse sweep.
Roy then perished for the third time in the 40s. He swatted a short ball from Pandya straight to Suryakumar Yadav at deep midwicket.
Stokes launched a fightback for England, walloping Sundar and Chahar into the stands in consecutive overs.
Jonny Bairstow, after initial struggles, swung into aggressive mode as well, crashing Sundar for two fours and a six on the on side. 18 came off the over as Sundar went for 52 in his four.
With a wet ball, Chahar also struggled as Stokes clubbed him for a four and a six through backward square and covers respectively.
However, the dangerous partnership was broken when Bairstow mistimed Chahar straight to point. He contributed 25 from 19 but his dismissal brought India right back in the contest.
With 46 needed from the last four overs, Thakur got another big breakthrough, having Ben Stokes (46 from 23) caught at long-off with a slower ball. The next ball, Eoin Morgan (4) was also back in the hut, failing to time another off-cutter.
Pandya then conceded only six runs in the 18th over, brilliantly varying his pace. He bowled Sam Curran (3) off the last ball of his spell to end with exceptional figures of 2 for 16.
A couple of big hits from Jofra Archer gave India a scare. But Thakur managed to hold his nerve and had Chris Jordan (12) caught in the covers to seal the game.
Combative Suryakumar Yadav, scintillating Shreyas Iyer lift India to 185
The long wait for Suryakumar Yadav ended on Thursday. In his first international innings for the country, the 30-year-old demonstrated why so many experts and fans were rooting for his inclusion in the Indian T20I squad.
India's evening started on the wrong note though, as the hosts lost the toss and were asked to bat first yet again. And they began poorly once more.
Rohit Sharma got the innings underway with a bang - lofting the first ball from Rashid over long-off for six. On 12 though, he presented a simple return catch to Archer.
Having reached 14, KL Rahul tried to break free by making room against Stokes. All he managed was to tamely find mid-off. Captain Virat Kohli then ran past a Rashid googly to be stumped for 1.
However, Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer ensured that India had a decent total of defend.
Coming into bat at number three, Suryakumar Yadav got off the mark in incredible fashion. With one leg off the ground, he pulled Jofra Archer over fine leg for a maximum.
Next over, Suryakumar Yadav punched Mark Wood through the covers for a boundary, stamping his authority.
Suryakumar Yadav was severe on spin as well. After top-edging a sweep off Adil Rashid, he launched the leggie inside out over extra cover for another six. The right-hander raced to his fifty off 28 balls, crashing the same bowler through backward point.
When Sam Curran was introduced in the 14th over, Suryakumar Yadav scooped the left-arm seamer over fine leg for his third six. A repeat of the shot next ball led to his dismissal, albeit in controversial fashion.
The ball appeared to have hit the ground as Dawid Malan tried to take the catch in front of him. However, the soft signal was out though and the original decision stayed. Suryakumar Yadav’s debut knock thus ended on a magnificent 57 from 31.
The very next ball, Iyer drove Curran for a boundary through the covers. The over ended with a loose delivery being carted through third man for another boundary. Despite losing Suryakumar Yadav’s wicket, India still managed 16 off Curran's over.
Iyer continued to find the boundaries with precision. He lofted Chris Jordan over his head for a four and slapped one inside out over cover for a six. India headed into the last two overs at a a healthy 167 for 5.
India looked set for a 190-plus total. But England's bowlers pulled things back very well. Having hit a six, Hardik Pandya (11) perished in the penultimate over to a blinder of a catch from Ben Stokes.
Iyer then fell on the very first ball of the 20th over, guiding Archer straight to deep midwicket. India needed a couple of smart boundaries from Thakur in the end to lift the score to a defendable 185 for 8.