England vs India 4th T20: England captain Harry Brook led from the front in the run chase. On a surface where India crawled to 158/7 on the back of Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 80, Brook took the bowlers to cleaners. He scored 79 runs from just 35 balls as England chased down the target with 6.1 overs to spare and nine wickets in hand. After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, Brook was asked by former captain Eoin Morgan whether he would like England to be the numero uno in ICC T20I team rankings. The England skipper intends to make 4-0 on Sunday and dethrone the three-time T20 World Cup-winners who have forced themselves into transition.
“That was good fun tonight (chuckles). It's always good to beat India, a very strong side they have been for many years, and to beat them 3-0 with one game to go, we're very happy,” Brook said.
“It'd be pretty cool to be world no.1 (smiles), if I'm being honest. That's definitely an aim for us. We'll just keep on doing the same things that we have done in this series so far, and we'll stick to our guns, and hopefully we'll come out 4-0.”
This is England's first bilateral series win against India since 2014.
Currently, England have 267 rating points, only two shy of top-ranked India who have lost two consecutive series on UK tour.
Brook goes ballistic, joins elite list
Brook's knock was laced with eight fours and four sixes. He batted with a strike rate of 225.71. While Phil Salt played the anchor role, Brook decimated pacers and spinners alike. He registered the joint fifth-highest total against India by a captain in T20Is, only one run shy of England record held by teammate Jos Buttler who scored an unbeaten 80 in T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal.
Partnership to remember
Salt and Brook shared an unbeaten 146-run partnership, the fourth-highest for any wicket against India in the format. Salt contributed with an unbeaten 42-ball 59 laced with nine fours and a six.
Not a dead rubber for India or England
There hasn't been an instance of India not winning a single game in a T20I series against England featuring two or more games. Iyer would hope to avoid registering the unwanted record in his name at The Rose Bowl, Southampton on July 11.