Fri Jan 31 21:01:37 UTC 2025: ## India Wins Fourth T20 Against England, Takes Unassailable Lead in Series
**Pune, India:** India secured an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match T20I series against England with a 15-run victory in the fourth match played in Pune on Friday. Despite losing the third match, India bounced back strongly, chasing down England’s total with a confident performance.
India, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, had a shaky start losing three wickets with only 12 runs on the board. Tilak Varma and captain Suryakumar Yadav failed to score, however, crucial contributions from Rinku Singh (30), Shivam Dube (53), and Hardik Pandya (53) steered the innings. Dube and Pandya’s 87-run partnership for the sixth wicket proved pivotal, propelling India to a challenging 181/9 in their 20 overs. Shakib Mahmud was England’s most successful bowler with three wickets.
Chasing 182, England’s openers, Philip Salt (23) and Ben Duckett (39), provided a brisk start, adding 62 runs in the first 5.6 overs. However, their dismissals triggered a collapse. While Harry Brook played a fiery innings of 51 runs off 26 balls, regular wickets at the other end hampered England’s chase. Substitute Harshit Rana (3 wickets) and Ravi Bishnoi (3 wickets) wreaked havoc on the English middle order, alongside Varun Chakravarthy (2 wickets) and Arshdeep Singh (1 wicket), restricting England to 166/10 in 19.4 overs.
India made three changes to their playing XI from the previous match, bringing in Arshdeep Singh for Mohammed Shami, Rinku Singh for Dhruv Jurel, and Shivam Dube for Washington Sundar. England also made two changes, replacing Wood with Mahmud and Smith with Bitel. While Mahmud bowled well, the Indian bowling attack proved too strong.
With one match remaining, India has already secured the series victory. The fifth and final T20I will be a dead rubber.
First Piper 