India sealed the T20I series 3-2 against England on Saturday after beating the visitors by 36 runs in the fifth T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who broke Dawid Malan-Jos Buttler stand and cleaned up Jason Roy for 0 in England’s 225-run chase, was the star of India’s bowling attack. After Buttler’s fall, England kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and could only muster 188/8 in 20 overs. Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 80 (52 balls) as India posted 224/2 in 20 overs after England captain Eoin Morgan won toss and elected to bowl. However, what were the main reasons behind India’s victory against England? What acted as a catalyst to their series win against the number one team in the world? How did India beat the World’s Best T20I side? Let’s take a look at 5 reasons Behind India’s T20I Victory over England

1) Bhuvneshwar Kumar:

 

Bhuvneshwar’s first spell read 2-0-6-1, but since he had gone out of the attack, India’s efforts to stop the runs cascade was like trying to plug multiple leaks with paper towels. But in Bhuvneshwar, India knew they had someone who could come with brick and mortar and cement. Ordinarily, he might have been saved up for the death, but not with England going the way they were. In his four overs, the 31-year-old picked up 2 wickets and conceded just 15 runs, which made a massive difference in the context of the match. B.Kumar was really economical throughout the series and was impactful throughout the series.

2) Virat Kohli:

 

Kohli, who had first won a Man of the Series award in the shortest format in 2012, has now won his seventh such award at the highest level.

“Testimony to our batting depth. Today Rohit and me were both positive in our intent. We knew we could trust each other and one of us can play second fiddle if one takes off,” Kohli told Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony. He scored 3 unbeaten fifties in this series and lead his team from the front.

3) Suryakumar Yadav:

 

He dispatched the very first ball he faced from Archer for an agenda-setting six, never really let up, and showed India the way to bat first. Archer banged in a chest-high lifter at 144kph, but Suryakumar swiftly jumped back and nailed a one-legged pull with gum-chewing swagger and jaw-dropping timing. Suryakumar had pulled off a similar outrageous hit – a reverse-scoop – off Archer over Jos Buttler’s head for six in IPL 2020. At the post-match virtual media interaction, Suryakumar revealed that he was well-prepared for Archer’s hit-the-deck bustle. He scored a good cameo in yesterday’s decider as well.

4) Shardul Thakur:

 

When Thakur made his T20I debut in 2018, he only seemed to have the knuckle ball as his change-up option. He can now bowl a split-finger variation, cutters into the middle of the pitch, and a cross-seamer that he gets to swerve by imparting backspin. In the ongoing T20I series against England on the grippy Ahmedabad tracks, he has taken all his five wickets with the offcutter. He took 2 crucial wickets in an over in both the fourth as well as the final T20I thua contributing to India’s successful series win.

5) Poor form of Eoin Morgan:

 

England’s poor batting display in the final few overs costed them this series. No matter how good Morgan the captain was, he wasn’t really at his best with the bat in this series. Morgan has set such high standards that this series seems below par for him.

By Arvind Krishnan

Cricket writer, statistician and analyst. An unorthodox media student, marketing runs in his blood. Sports Marketer and analyst.