England defeated Team India by 9 wickets, for the first time in the history of 7 years, India lost two consecutive T20I series.

All the hopes of the Indian cricket team’s comeback collapsed like a pack of cards in the fourth T20 International match played at the County Ground in Bristol. Once again, due to the very disappointing and flop performance of the Indian batting order, the visiting team had to face a crushing defeat of 9 wickets. With this one-sided victory, England has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in this high-profile five-match T20 series. The biggest shock for the Indian team is that this is the first time in the last 7 years of cricket history that Team India has lost two consecutive T20 International series, which has raised serious questions on the team’s current T20 format and strategy.

Shreyas Iyer’s fighting innings of 80 runs also went in vain, the rest of the batsmen surrendered.

After consecutive defeats, a strong and united performance was expected from the Indian top order in this do-or-die match. On the contrary, the entire batting unit looked completely helpless in front of the English bowlers. During this entire bad phase, only acting captain Shreyas Iyer remained at the crease like a lone fighter. Iyer showed wisdom in difficult situations and played a very brilliant and fighting inning of 80 not out in 49 balls, which saved the team from being reduced to a very embarrassing score. However, due to lack of support from any batsman from the other end, the Indian team could only score a paltry score of 158 runs in the stipulated 20 overs, which was very low on this beautiful batting pitch of Bristol.

Harry Brook and Phil Salt’s storm: England won the match unilaterally in 37 balls

The path was absolutely easy for the English team which set out to chase this target of 159 runs. Opener Phil Salt and captain Harry Brook tore apart the Indian bowling attack with attractive and aggressive strokes all around the ground. Both of them made the run chase completely one-sided from the very beginning and did not give any chance to the Indian bowlers to make a comeback. Captain Harry Brook scored an unbeaten 79 and Phil Salt scored an unbeaten 59 to give his team a historic and huge nine-wicket victory with 37 balls remaining. This defeat clearly shows how much the Indian team is currently lagging behind England in the shortest format of the game.

‘We completely failed to implement the strategy on the field’ – Captain Shreyas Iyer said after the defeat

Captain Shreyas Iyer did not try to hide his disappointment in the post-match presentation ceremony held after the match. He honestly admitted that the score of 158 was not good enough on the board at all. Shreyas while revealing the bowlers’ defense and his strategy said, “This result is very disappointing for us. When we came out to bowl, I had clearly told the bowlers to continuously repeat their line and length, because scoring runs on the top of the middle and leg stump was not easy on this pitch. But our bowlers failed miserably to execute that plan on the field, as a result of which the opposition team achieved this target so easily and quickly.”

Will Sanju Samson return? Questions raised on playing eleven after 15 year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s flop show

Now the biggest challenge before the Indian team management will be to save its credibility in the fifth and final T20 match to be held in Southampton. After losing the series, it will be interesting to see whether any major changes are seen in the Indian playing XI or not. The move to give a chance to 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who was included in the team as a young sensation, has completely backfired. Although this young player has definitely shown glimpses of talent, the pressure of international cricket is proving to be very difficult for him at the moment. In such a situation, the discussion has intensified among cricket fans and analysts whether the batting will be strengthened by giving a chance to the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson in the playing eleven in the next match.