England crush India by 9 wickets to seal historic T20I series win in Bristol

Bristol [UK], July 10 (ANI): India's struggles in the five-match T20I series against England continued on Thursday as they suffered a nine-wicket defeat in the fourth game in Bristol, handing the hosts an 3-0 lead with one match still to play.

The defeat marked the second series loss under new captain Shreyas Iyer, who continues to search for his first victory as India's T20I skipper.

This marks the first time England have defeated India in a bilateral T20I series involving two or more matches. India had won five of their previous six bilateral T20I series against England, while one series ended in a draw.

Before the ongoing tour, India's last two bilateral series defeats against England across formats came during the 2018 tour, when they lost the ODI series 2-1 and the Test series 4-1.

Since then, India had enjoyed a dominant run against England, winning eight of their 10 bilateral series, with the remaining two being drawn Test series in England that ended 2-2.

After the opening match was washed out due to rain, England bounced back in dominant fashion, winning three successive games to seal the series.

Chasing a modest target of 159, England's batters made light work of India's bowling attack, with Harry Brook and Phil Salt smashing commanding half-centuries to guide the hosts home in just 13.5 overs.

Salt slammed 59 runs off 42 balls, while skipper Brook smashed 79 off just 35 balls laced with 8 fours and 4 sixes.

Earlier, India struggled to find momentum with the bat, managing 158/7 despite a fighting unbeaten knock from Iyer. The captain stood tall amid the collapse, scoring 80 not out off 49 deliveries, but lacked support from the other end as England's bowlers kept the visitors in check.

Young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi endured another disappointing outing, falling for 15 off 10 balls after being dismissed by Jofra Archer.

Archer and Josh Tongue were the pick of the England bowling attack, claiming two wickets each to restrict India's scoring rate.

With the series already decided, India will look to salvage pride in the final T20I, while England will aim to complete a comprehensive series victory. (ANI)

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