Fearless India secured the home T20I series before the last game of the T20I series, as they beat England in the Pune T20I on Friday night and have taken a 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

After England captain Jos Buttler chose to field first at Pune, India scored 181/9 in 20 overs. In reply, England were all out for 166 runs in 19.4 overs, as India won the match by 15 runs.

Saqib Mahmood brought early blows

England got a great start as Saqib Mahmood was playing his first game and took three wickets in his first over as India were down to 12/3. After scoring 12 runs in the first over of Jofra Archer, Sanju Samson (1) and Tilak Varma (0) were dismissed in the first two deliveries of the second over of the innings, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0) lost his wicket on the last ball of the over as Mahmood finished the over with a maiden and three wickets. 

In the tough moment, opener Abhishek Sharma and middle-order batter Rinku Singh handled the situation strongly. However, both lost their wickets at crucial moments, as Sharma scored 29 and Singh scored 30 runs. 

While India were struggling at 79/5, Shivam Dube made a great comeback in the T20I side and Hardik Pandya set up a strong partnership. They had an 87-run partnership for the sixth wicket, the largest ever T20I partnership for the fifth or lower wickets against England. 

See Also: Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya set a record-breaking T20I partnership against England

Hardik and Dube scored 50s

After a cautious start, Hardik completed his fifty in 27 balls. The right-handed batter scored 53 off 30 balls with the help of four fours and four sixes before Jamie Overton dismissed him. Meanwhile, Dube took 31 balls to complete his half-century. Before he was run out on the final ball of the innings, the left-handed batter scored 53 off 35 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. While Dube got a hit on his helmet in the final over of the innings, India used a concussion substitute as Harshit Rana replaced the all-rounder, which has triggered a new controversy. It was Rana's T20I debut, which happened in a dramatic way.

Among the English bowlers, Saqib Mahmood took three wickets (3/35) and Jamie Overton bagged two wickets (2/32).

England were 62/1

In chasing, England got a great start as Phil Salt and Ben Duckett dominated the Indian bowlers. Indian bowlers seemed clueless to restrict Duckett, but on the final ball of the powerplay, Ravi Bishnoi dismissed the left-handed batter for 39 off 19 balls (seven fours and one six), as England scored 62/1. 

Opener Salt (23) and captain Jos Buttler (2) were dismissed quickly as Axar Patel and Bishnoi took the wickets, respectively, and the visitors were battling at 67/3.

Harry Brook's 50 went in vain

England were losing the wickets at regular intervals, while Harry Brook finally found his form despite not getting enough support from the other end. 

Firing Brook (51 off 26 balls; five fours and two sixes) completed his half-century in 25 balls but he threw his wicket on the next ball as Varun Chakravarthy once again won the battle against him.

In the last moment, Jamie Overton battled hard with his big shots. But his questionable no single theory, which was instructed by Adil Rashid, ended England’s last hope. 

Among the Indian bowlers, Ravi Bishnoi (3/28) and concussion-sub Harshit Rana (3/33) bagged three wickets each, and Varun Chakravarthy (2/28) got two wickets. 

While Mumbai will host the last game of the T20I series on Sunday (February 2), India have already secured the T20I series with a lead of 3-1.