Table of Contents
Fifth T20, Mumbai
India 247-9 (20 overs): Abhishek 135 (54); Carse 3-38
England 97 all out (10.3 overs): Salt 55 (23); Shami 3-25
India won by 150 runs
Scorecard
India won by 150 runs in Mumbai thanks to a brilliant century from Abhishek Sharma, while England suffered a record T20 loss.
As the hosts reached 247-9, the 24-year-old opener hit the highest total by an Indian batsman in a T20 international, smashing 135 off 54 balls, including 13 sixes and seven fours.
Jos Buttler’s team lost the series 4-1 after crashing in their reply and being skittled for just 97 in 10.3 overs, a record defeat by margin of runs, while chasing an almost impossible total.
India dominated England in the powerplay after being put into bat on an excellent surface at the Wankhede Stadium, reaching 95-1 after the first six overs.
Abhishek reached his century in 37 deliveries, the third-fastest in a match involving Test-playing nations, after reaching his fifty off only 17 balls.
One ball before he was ultimately removed, caught on the cover boundary by Jofra Archer off Adil Rashid, he struck his thirteenth and final six, setting another national record.
In a miserable chase, no other batter reached ten, despite Phil Salt’s best efforts to keep England up with the necessary pace, hitting 55 from 23 at the top of the order.
Mohammed Shami, a seamer for India, took 3–25, and Abhishek removed Jamie Overton and Brydon Carse with a single over of 2-3.
England suffered one of their worst losses in their maiden white-ball series under coach Brendon McCullum, with Mark Wood being the final batter to fall after being caught behind on review.
The Wankhede throng celebrates a new hero.
A jubilant audience cheered a new hero as Abhishek’s name reverberated throughout the renowned stadium as he eventually left after holing out to Archer.
The star of the show was the opener, who scored 105 more runs than any other Indian batsman despite having scored 79 in the first game of the series and failing to surpass 29 in the next three innings.
In the third over, he launched his assault, hitting England strike bowler Archer for back-to-back sixes on the off side.
After Wood scored 14 runs, Archer’s fifth over saw more consecutive sixes to complete the second-fastest T20 international century by an Indian.
A single into the covers off Carse’s first ball after drinks, on the other hand, was a more subdued way to get his century.
Despite hitting three sixes in his final six balls, Abhishek struggled to get on strike after that and only faced 17 more deliveries.
India’s supporting cast includes Shivam Dube (30 from 13) and Sanju Samson (16 from seven), who both batted with a strike rate over 200, while Tilak Varma struck 24 from 15.
England pays for maintaining their tempo.
On Indian grounds, which usually favor slower bowlers, England has struggled against spin in this series, losing 29 wickets to turning deliveries.
But McCullum, who took over the white-ball team before the India tour, decided to go with a seamer-dominated lineup that included leggie Rashid as the front-line spinner and Liam Livingstone as a backup.
India rushed to 55-1 after Archer (1-55) and Wood (2-32) bowled the opening four overs of the powerplay, giving up nine boundaries as the hosts took advantage of the ball’s speed.
The only seamer from England to make an impression was Carse, who took 3-38 with a variety of speeds and ended the series with nine wickets, second only to India’s Varun Chakravarthy.
Varma and Suryakumar Yadav skied balls to keeper Salt, and Dube found Rashid at fine leg. All three of his wickets came from top edges off short balls.
Rashid, a leg-spinner, was unusually costly with the ball; he hit a string of Abhishek sixes before dismissing India’s best player.
As England decided to give Archer, Wood, and Carse a full complement, he concluded with figures of 1-41 from three overs. Overton (1-48) was also handed 18 deliveries as McCullum kept throwing his quicks at India’s top hitters.
England’s numerical loss set a new record
- One run shy of Australia’s 248-6 in 2013, India’s 247-9 is the second-highest total against England in Twenty20 Internationals.
- India’s greatest powerplay score was 95-1, surpassing their 2021 victory of 82-2 over Scotland.
- After India’s 168-run victory against New Zealand in 2023, this was the second-largest run-count loss between two Test-playing countries.
- It was England’s worst loss by a wide margin, surpassing the previous records of 90 runs lost to South Africa in 2022 and India in 2012.
Reaction: “I always try to go from the first ball.”
Jos Buttler, captain of England:
“There are things we want to do better and certain things we’ve done well, but we must continue to play the cricket we want to play and just do it better.
“India is a great country, especially at home, and our men will undoubtedly benefit from the experience.
“I think some of the guys’ bowling performances – even today, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood, I thought they were outstanding.”
Abhishek Sharma, the opener for India:
“I usually try to start from the first ball when I realize it’s my day. My coach and captain have always supported me and desired this goal, based on the way they have handled me.
“You need to be prepared a second ahead of your opponents when they are all bowling at 140–150 kph. I wanted to play my shots and respond to the ball.
Suryakumar Yadav, captain of India:
We would want to play cricket like this. We are adhering to it. High risk equals high gain.
