Following his side’s massive win over England in the fifth match of the series, India’s Shivam Dube said that it was a great feeling for him to contribute as an allrounder. Abhishek Sharma’s all-round performance in the match guided the hosts India to a historic victory over England in the fifth and final match of the series at the Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. With this victory, India sealed the five-match series 4-1 after having already sealed the series.

Speaking after the end of the match, Shivam Dube said that he was excited to bowl in the second inning of the match. He added that Men in Blue bowling coach Morne Morkel helped him with his angles.

“It feels great when you contribute as an allrounder, which I have been doing for a long time. I was really excited to bowl. I could not do that in the last match, but I knew I would be bowling today. [Abhishek] told me the wicket was good, play your shots. I didn’t want to bring the run rate down, so I just played my shots. Morne Morkel has helped me with my angles. I got the opportunity today [with the ball] and I delivered well,” Shivam Dube was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

Recapping the match, England won the toss and decided to bowl against India in Wankhede.

Abhishek Sharma (135 runs from 54 balls, 7 fours and 13 sixes) displayed a stupendous knock in the first inning and propelled India to 247/9. The youngster was the standout batter for the Men in Blue on Sunday.

Brydon Carse led the England bowling attack with his three-wicket haul. Mark Wood also bagged two wickets.

During the run chase, England opener Philip Salt (55 runs from 23 balls, 7 fours and 3 sixes) was the lone batter to stand up for the Three Lions, apart from him, other players failed to put up a show in the game.

The Indian bowling attack showed a stupendous performance and successfully bundled out England to 97 with 9 overs remaining. Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, and Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets each in their respective spells.

Abhishek Sharma was named the ‘Player of the Match’. While Varun Chakravarthy bagged the ‘Player of the Series’ award.

Abhishek Sharma was the wrecker-in-chief as India registered their 2nd biggest T20I win.© BCCI

The Indian cricket team scripted history during its fifth and final T20I match against England at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Abhishek Sharma was the wrecker-in-chief as India smashed their highest-ever score in the powerplay in the format, 95 runs at the loss of one wicket. Boundaries were flowing all-around the park, thanks to terrific hitting from Abhishek as he reached his fifty in only 17 balls. By the end of powerplay, the southpaw reached the score of 58 off only 21 balls. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma scored 19 off 8 balls and Sanju Samson, who was dismissed in the powerplay, hit 16 off 7 balls during the first six overs of India’s play.

India’s highest scores in T20I powerplay –

95/1 vs England in Mumbai in 2025

82/2 vs SCotland in Dubai in 2021

82/1 vs Bangladesh in Hyderabad in 2024

78/2 vs South Africa in Johannesburg in 2018

Abhishek continued the carnage as India reached the 100-run mark in 6.3 overs, their quickest century in the T20I format. India went past their previous record of scoring a hundred in 7.1 overs vs Bangladesh in Hyderabad in October last year. Meanwhile, the southpaw slammed his personal ton in only 37 balls.

Earlier, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl in the match. England made one change in the playing XI, with Saqib Mahmood making way for Mark Wood. For India, Arshdeep Singh was replaced with seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami. The series is already in India’s firm grip with a 3-1 lead, making the final T20I a dead rubber.

England captain Jos Buttler said after winning the toss, “We played some good cricket in patches. We should have executed it better though. Need to grab the special moments in the game. There’s a good vibe in the team, it’s a good venue and it’s a great crowd. It’s a good wicket, Mark Wood comes back in. Both teams are high-octane (in terms of batting).”

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said during the time of the toss, “We wanted to bat first, looks a good wicket. I am hoping there won’t be much dew. It’s going to be a full-packed stadium tonight. We want the boys taking that responsibility, that’s what we demand and that’s what they are doing. You will fail sometimes, especially when you play that high-risk, high-reward game. Shami comes back in for Arshdeep Singh.”

(With ANI Inputs)

File photo of Jos Bottler.© AFP