England finished their T20I series against India on Saturday with a resounding 56-run win in the final Test at Southampton. The hosts got the better of the series, with the first game called off because of rain, finishing the series 4-0.
The final game was a record day for England as Jos Buttler and Harry Brook split sensational individual efforts, and India had a few unwanted records to break on their home soil.
Jos Buttler came up with a glorious effort in the form of a 131-run knock and his personal best for the T20I format against India. The England captain also became England’s first batsman to reach the milestone of his ninth T20 century and the top scorer in T20 cricket.England captain also became the top scorer in all T20 cricket and England’s first batsman to score his ninth T20 century after beating Alex Hales. Buttler is the only player, aside from Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, with more T20 runs than him globally.
Harry Brook continued the attacking spirit of Buttler with a blistering 50, off the 19th ball in the 1st T20I against India, the fastest half-century in T20Is.
The partnership between the two players was a great one and they created a new world record for the second wicket stand in T20I cricket, scoring 233-run stand. It was also the largest partnership in the format in India. For any wicket, Afghanistan’s 236-run opening stand against Ireland in 2019 is the highest score amongst Full Member nations.
Brook also set the new record for the highest total runs by any batter in a bilateral T20I series against India with 229 runs, beating the previous record of 208 by West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran.
India Finish Tour With Unwanted Records
They ended up with the highest ever score in India, 257/3, in England’s T20I history, powered by their brilliant performances in the batting department. In the innings, Indian bowlers gave out a record second 17 sixes in a T20 match.
The loss marked one of India’s worst T20I tours in recent times. India suffered a “shock four-wicket defeat” in the first-ever T20I series or tournament. They had gone three defeats in a row to their worst record.
Captain Shreyas Iyer, too, had a rough patch of his leadership career. He has now gone through seven games as skipper without a win in T20Is and is only the fourth skipper from a Full Member side to start with a losing streak. In all the seven matches, Iyer won the toss, a feat which he is just the second captain of the T20I world to achieve.
The comprehensive win was England’s first bilateral series triumph over India in over two bilateral T20I series. The hosts not only won the trophy with a bang, but they also broke a few records, while India headed home with a few burning questions.