England replaced India as the world’s top-ranked T20I side after completing a 4-0 series sweep with a 56-run victory in the fifth and final T20I at Southampton on Saturday.
The defeat also extended Shreyas Iyer’s winless run as India’s T20I captain, while England climbed to the top of the ICC rankings after dethroning the reigning T20 World Cup champions.
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, India made two changes to the playing XI, including the return of Sanju Samson in place of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The visitors made an encouraging start by dismissing Phil Salt early and keeping England quiet in the opening overs.
However, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook turned the game on its head with a devastating partnership. After surviving an early chance, Brook joined Buttler in launching a relentless assault on the Indian bowling attack as the pair dominated both pace and spin.
Buttler raced to his fastest T20I half-century before converting it into a commanding century, while Brook remained unbeaten on 95. Their partnership powered England to 257/3, their highest-ever T20I total against India.
India’s chase suffered an early setback when Abhishek Sharma fell to Jofra Archer. Sanju Samson struck a couple of sixes to provide early momentum before being dismissed by Sam Curran.
Ishan Kishan kept India in the contest with a fighting half-century and shared a useful stand with skipper Shreyas Iyer. But both batters fell in quick succession just as India looked to accelerate, leaving the visitors with too much to do in the closing stages.
Tilak Varma played an aggressive knock and reached a half-century, but England maintained control to seal a comfortable victory and complete a dominant series sweep.
The result lifted England to the top of the ICC men’s T20I rankings, while India dropped to second after surrendering the No. 1 spot following the one-sided series.
