India vs England 2020-21: The lessons learnt as India overcomes English test in T20Is

After a week of intense Twenty20 International action, it was host India that overcame the English challenge. With the fifth and final Twenty20 International being the decider, India came up with a top performance against a relentless England to emerge victorious.

Despite having the home advantage, India had to grind it against the number one T20I side. As a result, both teams learnt harsh lessons from this series while we take a look.

Never take the number one lightly
Pondering on the point just said above, no matter what the conditions are, a number one team is never taken lightly. Even if India might have tried to do so in the opening game, it learnt the harsh lesson and soon realised that it would not be as easy as it seems. It is the basic common sense that a side is on the top for a reason. Furthermore, England was on an eight-series undefeated streak before the series, making the visitor even dangerous.

India has humongous talents in its arsenal
Thanks to the Indian Premier League, the talents the Indians have unearthed is mind-blowing. Although India might not have won the ICC World T20 since IPL came into existence, its stars have always been commended. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav's likes just proved that what the exposure to the IPL could do, especially for gifted young players like them. About time India wins the WT20 to cement IPL's legacy.

ALSO READ: 5th T20I- A look at the records smashed as India scripts series win

Is out of sight really out of mind?
One of the worrying factors for India was the rough patch of wicketkeeper-opening batsman KL Rahul. Managing just 14 runs in four innings, especially for the batsman who finished as the highest run-scorer during IPL 2020, it was indeed baffling to see that. Notably, Rahul was out of practice since the T20Is in Australia and did not play competitive cricket for nearly two months, despite being in the Indian squad for the Tests. I guess this is where India can learn regarding the rotation policy from England.

Was Virat Kohli's experimentation risky?
Skipper Kohli did mild experimentations during the series. However, the most notable one came during the final game when he promoted himself up the order as an opener. Although it was a risk, Kohli knew what he was doing. Also, a player of Kohli's stature was indeed confident of himself delivering, which eventually turned out to be a good decision. Nonetheless, had he failed to click, he would undoubtedly have been at the receiving end, especially with the series on the line. Overall, with the WT20 ahead, we can't really blame him either.

England has top-order issues to solve
Meanwhile, from England's perspective, it was overall a good display of gameplay. However, the one consistent area where it continues to lag is the top-order. Although the order was relatively good in this series than the Tests, it failed to get off to a start, losing an opener early. Barring the opening game, it was unable to get the right start. While both the openers will have to work on this before putting the incoming batsmen under pressure, especially with the WT20 ahead, opener Jason Roy's return to form is certainly a sigh of relief for England.

• england
• england vs india
• england vs india 2020-21
• england's tour of india
• england's tour of india 2020-21
• india
• india vs england
• india vs england 2020-21
• india vs england 2020-21 t20i series
• india vs england 2020-21 t20is
• india vs england 2021
• india vs england t20i series
• india vs england t20is
• t20
• t20i series
• virat kohli
• t20 cricket
• cricket
• ayush gupta