New Delhi: England captain Jos Buttler disagreed with the decision to name Harshit Rana as a like-for-like replacement for Shivam Dube, who was struck on the helmet during the final over of Team India’s innings. Rana, making his debut, impressed with figures of 3-33, helping India secure a 15-run victory over England to win the Twenty20 series with a match to spare on Friday. Rana bowled out England’s last hope, Jamie Overton, in the 19th over, leaving No. 10 batter Adil Rashid and No. 11 Saqib Mahmood to chase 19 runs in the final over. The pair managed just three runs before Mahmood was dismissed.
England was bowled out for 166 with two balls remaining, chasing India’s total of 181-9
Shivam Dube, playing his first T20 for India since July, contributed with a solid 53 off 34 balls, while Hardik Pandya also scored 53 off 30 balls. During India’s final over, Dube was struck on the helmet by Overton and had to leave the field due to concussion. In a controversial move, Dube was replaced by medium-pacer Harshit Rana, despite the rules stating that substitutions must be like-for-like.
India won the match, securing the series 3-1, with the fifth and final game set to take place on Sunday in Mumbai.
England won its first toss of the series and chose to bowl first. Both teams made changes, with Dube, Rinku Singh, and Arshdeep Singh coming in for India, while England brought in Jacob Bethell and Saqib Mahmood. India’s top order faltered early, with Mahmood taking three quick wickets in the second over. Sanju Samson was dismissed for just 1, Tilak Varma was caught at third man off the first ball he faced, and Suryakumar Yadav was out for a duck, chipping a catch to midwicket.
Abhishek Sharma added 29 runs, including four fours and a six, and formed a 45-run partnership with Rinku Singh, who scored 30 off 26 balls. However, Adil Rashid broke the partnership by dismissing Sharma in the eighth over, and Brydon Carse followed up by getting rid of Singh.
But then, Dube and Pandya took charge, taking on the England bowlers and shifting the momentum in India’s favor. Dube hit seven boundaries and two sixes, while Pandya blasted four sixes and four fours, pushing India to 181-9.
Chasing 182 to level the series, England made a strong start with openers Phil Salt (23) and Ben Duckett (39) sharing 62 runs off 36 balls. Duckett, who hit seven boundaries and a six, was dismissed by wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi at the end of the powerplay. Five balls later, Axar Patel bowled out Salt, and Bishnoi claimed the key wicket of Jos Buttler.
England then lost three wickets in just nine deliveries, slipping to 67-3. Harry Brook, who had struggled earlier in the series, fought back with a brisk 51 off 26 balls, including five fours and two sixes. However, he was dismissed immediately after reaching his half-century, falling to Varun Chakravarthy for the third time in the series. The mystery spinner also removed Brydon Carse for a duck.
The game shifted further when Harshit Rana, replacing Shivam Dube as a concussion substitute, took three key wickets, including Liam Livingstone, Bethell, and Overton, to effectively seal the win for India.
England captain Jos Buttler, however, expressed his disagreement with the decision to allow Rana as a concussion substitute, stating, “We don’t agree with Harshit Rana replacing Shivam Dube as a concussion substitute. It was not a like-for-like replacement. Either Shivam Dube has added another 25 kmph to his bowling, or Harshit has improved his batting skills. We should have won the match, but we disagree with the decision.”
