India beat England by 36 runs in the fifth and final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday and clinched the T20I series 3-2. Virat Kohli with 231 runs in the series ended as the Man of the Series and it was also India’s eighth straight T20I series for India and the seventh under Kohli. This was England’s third straight series loss against India in this format since the World T20 2016. More about the 5th T20I report in detail below.
A clinical effort both with the bat and ball meant that India beat England in the fifth T20I Chasing a mammoth 225 to win, England reached 188/8. Jos Buttler (52) and Dawid Malan (68) added a 130-run stand for the second wicket but once the partnership was broken, England lost their next six wickets for just 58 runs as they ran out of the race to in the game.
All-Round Effort Help India Clinch Series 3-2
After Buttler was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur struck twice in the 15th over and dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Malan. The England middle order of Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes failed to put up a fight as the Indian bowlers bowled tight lines in the final overs. Bhuvi was chosen the Men of the Match for his efforts with the ball. He went for 15 off his spell and picked up two wickets on the flattest wicket of the series.
Earlier in the game, England won the toss and opted to chase. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli added a 94-run stand for the first wicket to kick off things for India. While Rohit scored 64, Kohli scored an unbeaten 80. Rohit went past Martin Guptill on the list of highest run-getters in the format and regained the number two spot.
Cameos from Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 17) and Hardik Pandya (39 off 17) to India to 224/8, a score which proved a little too much for England. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a spell of 2 for 15 and Shardul Thakur picked up three quick wickets in the end to swing the match India’s way. He also ended the series as the highest wicket-taker with eight wickets.
“Always good to be back. Always good to contribute to the team’s win. All good body-wise. Was confident because I played the domestic matches. When you get a wicket in the first over with the inswingers, always gives you joy and confidence” said Bhuvi on his matchwinning spell.
India 224 for 2 (Kohli 80*, Sharma 64) beat England 188 for 8 (Malan 68, Buttler 52, Thakur 3-45, Kumar 2-15) by 36 runs