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Harry Brook’s 25-ball fifty was in vain as England fell to a T20 series defeat to India with paceman Harshit Rana starring as a divisive concussion substitute in Pune.
With England set 182 to level the five-match series and set up a decider in Mumbai on Sunday, Brook laced 51 off 26 deliveries and Ben Duckett 39 off 19 balls but they were all out for 166 in 19.4 overs to lose by 15 runs.
India, who now hold an unassailable 3-1 series lead, recovered from 12 for three after Saqib Mahmood’s triple-wicket maiden to post 181 for nine, thanks to knocks of 53 from Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, who was struck on the helmet in the last over.
While he faced one more delivery and was run out from the last ball, he was declared unfit to take the field for the chase. The rules state like-for-like replacements must be made but while Dube is in the side for his batting, Rana is an out-and-out fast bowler having made just two runs in 25 T20 innings.
On his T20 international debut, Rana collected the wickets of Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell before effectively closing the door on England’s hopes when he bowled Jamie Overton for 19 off 15 balls.
Rana finished with three for 33 while Ravi Bishnoi also claimed three wickets as England once again struggled to combat spin and consign Mahmood’s efforts, after Jos Buttler called correctly at the toss for the first time in the series, to a mere footnote.
Mahmood, in for the rested Mark Wood, marked his return in astonishing fashion, with his first ball pulled by Sanju Samson to Brydon Carse in the deep and his second thick edged by Tilak Varma to Jofra Archer, who took a fine low catch.
While Suryakumar Yadav resisted the hat-trick ball, the India captain got a leading edge to short mid-on as opposite number Buttler was rewarded for sticking with an attacking field of six catchers in the ring for the rest of the over.
Abishek Sharma and Rinku Singh put on a restorative 45-run stand and had licence to target Rashid, who conceded 14 and 15 in his last two T20s but leaked 12 in an eventful opening over, where Abishek Sharma holed out on the sweep for 29 and Dube was put down first ball by a diving Buttler at slip.
Dube, renowned for his proficiency against spin, took advantage by lacing 25 off 11 deliveries he faced off Rashid compared with 28 off 23 to pace. Rinku was unable to kick on as he sliced Carse to Rashid on the boundary while Pandya made a typically watchful start before exploding at the back end.
At one point Hardik was on 14 off 17 balls but needed just another 10 deliveries to get to his fifty, with Mahmood twice in his final over, and Archer and Overton once each taken the distance.
While he was carted for 20 in his penultimate over and bowled an above waist-high beamer, Overton’s off-cutter did for Pandya as Buttler took a high, swirling catch. Overton conceded just three from the last over and thudded into Dube’s helmet, with the batter hooked in favour of Rana at the break.
England’s openers had recorded opening partnerships of nought, four and seven in this series but exploded out of the traps in a blizzard of boundaries, with Ben Duckett at his inventive best in a 62-run stand in 36 balls.
Duckett blazed eight of his 19 deliveries to the boundary, including an innovative six over deep point off Axar Patel, but his attempt to heave Ravi Bishnoi’s final ball of the powerplay resulted in a toe-edge that was caught in the ring.
Phil Salt made 23 but his weakness against left-arm spin resurfaced as he missed a cut and had his stumps rearranged by Axar and Buttler was deceived by Bishnoi’s extra bounce and carved to short third.
Rana took the catch as England lost a third wicket in three overs then ended a rebuilding job between Brook and Liam Livingstone, whose attempt to guide down to third took the edge through to Samson.
Brook counter-punched with back-to-back sixes in Harshit’s next over but then perished the ball after bringing up his fifty after scooping to short fine-leg off Varun Chakravarthy, who had Brydon Carse caught on the boundary in the same over.
England needed 49 off the last five overs with only three wickets in tact and their hopes receded when Jacob Bethell failed to pick Rana’s slower ball and picked out long-on.
Overton bunted Bishnoi for a straight six but then inside edged Rana on to his stumps to effectively end the match as a contest.
