Courtesy: BCCI
On Sunday, February 2, the Indian cricket team defeated England by a massive margin of 150 runs in the fifth and final T20I, to clinch the series with a 4-1 scoreline at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After the second-fastest hundred in T20I cricket from Abhishek Sharma for India, they reached 247/9 total in their allotted 20 overs before the bowlers took no time in bundling out England for just 97 runs in 10.3 overs with Mohammed Shami taking a three-wicket haul in his return series.
For the unversed, after winning the toss, England captain Jos Buttler sent India in to bat first, and the carnage ensued with the bat from the first ball onwards. Sanju Samson took 16 off the first over from Jofra Archer before Abhishek Sharma marched his way to a fifty in the power play stage itself in just 17 balls, to help India get the highest score (95/1) in the first six overs in their illustrious T20I cricket history before going past their hundred in 6.3 overs.
The left-handed batter kept on attacking the English pacers and spinners at will, to eventually reach his second T20I hundred in just 37 balls, while the other batted around him. With that, Abhishek Sharma became the second-fastest hundred scorer in the Indian T20I cricket history behind Rohit Sharma before his innings ended on 135 runs in 54 balls with seven fours and 13 maximums, which is now the highest individual score for an Indian batter in the shortest format of the game.
Despite the fact that India nearly scored 250 runs in 20 overs, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood conceded runs under 10 economy rate while picking up three and two wickets each. In the run chase, Phil Salt got off to an absolute flyer in the power play stage for England, but the wicket kept falling at the other end before he got out for 55 runs in 23 balls with seven fours and three maximums to Shivam Dube on his first ball delivered in the match.
Apart from a couple of wickets from player of the series Varun Chakravarthy in the England innings, player of the match Abhishek Sharma dismissed two batters of the opposition as well, making his day more special than it already was. Mohammed Shami ended up becoming the pick of the bowlers for the Indian cricket team in the fifth and final T20I of the series, taking three wickets while cleaning up the English tail, to ensure that they were bundled out within 11 overs.
