Shardul Thakur of India celebrates the wicket of Jonny Bairstow
(Picture: Getty Images)India beat England by 36 wickets in Ahmedabad to take the Twenty20 series 3-2 in Ahmedabad.
England were set a mammoth 225 as India’s batsmen cut loose in Saturday’s series decider.
Virat Kohli batted through the innings for 80 not out as his side racked up 224 for two, with Rohit Sharma making 64 while Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya faced 17 balls apiece for a combined 71 runs.
There were 11 sixes and 18 fours in the innings as the touring attack fell into the same traps with frustrating consistency, but Chris Jordan provided a glorious moment of respite by producing a quite magical piece of reaction fielding to dismiss Yadav.
England bravely chased India’s huge total, but stuttered badly in the 15th over, with Thakur’s control drawing fatal errors from Jonny Bairstow, carving a catch to deep point, and Malan.
Having made a fine 68, he had slowed down and lost his middle stump attempting to hit his way back into the ascendance - and any hopes of an England comeback evaporated.
Sam Curran hit two sixes off his first three balls at the death, but it was too little, too late for England as India sealed a deserved victory on the day to take the series.
