India vs England: Hosts seal series win as concussion substitute Harshit Rana takes three key wickets

3 weeks ago 19

India beat England by 15 runs in a thrilling T20 clash as controversial concussion substitute Harshit Rana took three key wickets to help the hosts seal a series victory.

After being put in to bat, India recovered from Saqib Mahmood taking three wickets in the second over to post 181-9 thanks to superb half-centuries from Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya.

England made a flying start to their chase and despite losing four swift wickets appeared in with a strong chance of victory when Harry Brook (51) brought up his half century to take England to 129-4 in the 15th over.

However, England's star batter fell to Varun Chakravarthy (2-28) to trigger the loss of four wickets for just 15 runs, before India closed out victory in the final over after brief resistance from Jamie Overton.

England's Saqib Mahmood, center, without a cap, celebrates with teammates the wicket of India's captain Suryakumar Yadav during the fourth T20 cricket match between England and India in Pune, India, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Image: Saqib Mahmood took three wickets in his first over of the series

England captain Jos Buttler appeared to be aggrieved by India being allowed to replace Dube, who was struck on the helmet in the final over of India's innings, with Harshit.

The sport's rules state a concussion replacement is meant to be "a like-for-like player whose inclusion will not excessively advantage his team" but debutant Harshit provided a much stronger bowling option than Dube.

More to follow…

England in India - results and fixtures

All times UK and Ireland

  • First T20: Wednesday January 22 - Eden Gardens, Kolkata - India won by seven wickets
  • Second T20: Saturday January 25 - MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - India won by two wickets
  • Third T20: Tuesday January 28 - Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot - England won by 26 runs
  • Fourth T20: Friday January 31 - Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune - India won by 15 runs
  • Fifth T20: Sunday February 2 (1.30pm) - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
  • First ODI: Thursday February 6 (8am) - Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
  • Second ODI: Sunday February 9 (8am) - Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
  • Third ODI: Wednesday February 12 (8am) - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

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