Abhishek's blistering century to Shami’s 3 wickets: 5 talking points from India’s win over England in 5th T20I

After posting a total of 247/9, thanks to blistering 135-run knock by Abhishek Sharma, Indian bowlers did a fantastic job by bundling England for a mere 97 runs in 10.3 overs in the 5th T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. 

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Team India ended in the five-match T20I series on a good note with a convincing 150-run win over England in the fifth T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. The Men in Blue led by Suryakumar Yadav already sealed the series by winning the fourth T20I in Pune on Friday. 

After posting a total of 247/9, thanks to blistering 135-run knock by Abhishek Sharma, Indian bowlers did a fantastic job by bundling England for a mere 97 runs in 10.3 overs. Mohammed Shami led India’s bowling with three wickets, while Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, and Abhishek Sharma chipped in by taking two scalps each. 

For England, Phil Salt was the top-scorer with an innings of 55 off 23 balls. However, his effort went in vain as his fellow England batters failed to step up for the team in their quest to chase down a 248-run target. 

Apart from India’s convincing victory against England in the fifth T20I, let’s take a look at key takeaways from the match. 

1. Abhishek Sharma’s record-breaking performance

Abhishek Sharma lit up the Wankhede Stadium with his blistering performance against England. He shattered several records during his scintillating innings of 135 off 54 balls at an impressive strike rate of 250. He achieved the feat of becoming the second fastest Indian batter to score 50 as well as 100 in the T20Is. This was followed up with the Indian record for the most sixes in a T20I innings (13). Before getting dismissed, Abhishek shattered Shubman Gill’s Indian record for the highest individual score in the shortest format of the game at international level.  Apart from his batting performance, Abhishek Sharma contributed with the ball, picking two wickets. 

2. Suryakumar Yadav’s struggle continues 

Suryakumar Yadav didn’t have an ideal T20I series against England as he failed to make an impact with the willow. In the final match of the T20I series, the 34-year-old was dismissed for just two runs, extending his lean patch in the format. In the last four matches, India T20I captain’s scores read 0, 12, 0, and 14 and total runs he scored throughout the series was 28 runs at an abysmal average of 5.6 in five innings. Ever since his appointment as a full-time T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav has struggled with his form as he has aggregated 258 runs, including two fifties, at an average of 18.42 in 15 matches. 

3. Phil Salt lone warrior for England 

England opener Phil Salt emerged as the lone warrior in the visitors' massive 248-run chase set by Team India. Salt played an innings of 55 off 23 balls before he was dismissed by Shivam Dube. However, his effort went in vain as rest of England batters failed to step up for the team when they were needed the most. The second-best score was 10 by Jacob Bethel. The lack of contribution from the middle-order resulted in England getting bundled out below 100 runs while chasing a huge target set by India. 

4. Mohammed Shami completed his Team India return with three wickets 

Mohammed Shami was one of the most impactful players for Team India’s win against England in the fifth T20I in Mumbai. Shami picked three wickets since his return to Team India in the recently concluded T20I series against England. He gave India a first breakthrough by dismissing Ben Duckett before picking two wickets of Adil Rashid and Mark Wood to register figures 3/25 at an economy rate of 10 in 2.3 overs. Mohammed Shami played his first match since his return to Team India in the 3rd T20I against England, but went wicketless. He was dropped again for the fourth T20I before he replaced Arshdeep Singh for the final match of the T20I series.

5. Shivam Dube’s impact 

Shivam Dube was one of the impact players in the last two matches for Team India. In the fifth T20I, Dube played a quickfire innings of 30 off 13 balls at an impressive strike rate of 230.77. His innings played a role in helping India post a hefty total. With the ball, the 31-year-old picked two wickets while conceding just 11 runs in his 2-over spell. In the last match, Shivam Dube played an innings of 53 off 34 balls and formed a crucial 87-run partnership with Hardik Pandya (53 off 30 balls) to lay a foundation for India’s 15-run win over England. Shivam Dube was added to the squad as a replacement for Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was ruled out of the England series due to a side strain.