Eoin Morgan bludgeoned seven sixes in a brilliant 71 off 31 balls to set England on their way to a thrilling three-run win over India in their tour-ending Twenty20 international on Sunday.
Replying to 180 for seven and needing the highest international T20 run chase on English soil, India kept up with the run rate, thanks to Virat Kohli’s 66 off 40 balls, but got bogged down by impressive death bowling from England in front of a loud, pro-India crowd in Birmingham.
India required 17 runs off the last over and captain MS Dhoni – arguably the world's best finisher in limited-overs cricket – kept the strike throughout, hitting a six and a four to leave him needing five off two balls.
Dhoni refused a single off the penultimate delivery and then picked out a fielder at square leg off the last, when a four would have meant a super-over tiebreaker. India finished on 177-5.
“In the last over, I missed two balls that I could have hit over the boundary,” Dhoni, who finished on 27 not out off 18 balls, told the BBC. “Hitting 17 in the last over is difficult. [Ambati] Rayudu had just come in and I thought I had a good chance.”
Not much was decided in the three formants. India return home with a 3-1 loss in the Test series, a 3-1 win in the one-day series and a narrow loss in the only T20 match.
Morgan’s seven sixes tied the record for a single innings in T20 internationals, and the England captain cracked three fours in a sixth half-century in his 50 T20s.
His knock rescued an England innings that was in trouble at 85 for four in the 12th over, with India’s spinners giving the middle order a hard time. In the last five overs, England slammed 81 runs as Ravi Bopara finished 21 not out off nine balls.
Alex Hales hit 40 off 25 balls at the top of the order, before departing to an astonishing full-length catch from Ajinkya Rahane – one of his four catches during the innings.
Kohli averaged 13.50 in the five-match Test series and scored just 54 runs across four innings in the one-day series, but he showed a belated return to form in smashing nine fours and one six on the way to his highest score on tour.
His 79-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan for the second wicket left India in good shape, but England conceded just 13 runs off 18 balls prior to the last over of the innings by Chris Woakes.
Dhoni hogged the strike ahead of Ambati Rayudu, who had just come to the crease after Ravindra Jadeja’s run out, but the captain could not push India over the line.
“It was awesome ... we’ve held our own against some of the best in the world,” Morgan said.
“You’ve very little margin for error with someone like Dhoni at the crease. To come out with a win today, the guys should be proud of themselves.
“It was nice to get some runs today. I was striking it really well.”
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