England crush India in fourth T20I to secure unassailable series lead

BRISTOL: England thrashed India by nine wickets in the fourth T20I of the five-match series to take an unassailable 3-0 lead at the County Ground on Thursday.

Batting first, India posted a competitive 158-7 in their allotted 20 overs, with captain Shreyas Iyer leading from the front with a sublime half-century, while the rest of the batting line-up failed to make significant contributions.

Iyer remained unbeaten as the top scorer with 80 from 49 deliveries, striking four fours and five sixes, while Shivam Dube made 22 off 23 balls, including two boundaries.

Opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi endured another disappointing outing, scoring 15 from 10 deliveries with one four and one six, while Abhishek Sharma added 16 off 14 balls, hitting two fours.

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan also struggled, managing just four from six deliveries. Tilak Varma chipped in with 11 off eight balls, including a six, while Washington Sundar and Axar Patel were dismissed for five and one respectively.

For England, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue spearheaded the bowling attack with two wickets each, while Will Jacks and Adil Rashid claimed one wicket apiece.

In reply, the Three Lions raced to the target of 159, losing only one wicket in 13.5 overs thanks to unbeaten match-winning innings from opener Phil Salt and captain Harry Brook.

Brook top-scored with a blistering 79 from just 35 deliveries, smashing eight fours and four sixes, while Salt remained unbeaten on 59 off 42 balls, including nine fours and a six.

Wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler was the only England batter to fall, dismissed by Arshdeep Singh after scoring a run-a-ball eight, which included one six.

The fifth and final T20I of the series is scheduled to be played in Southampton on Saturday.