The England India T20 series took a firm turn on Thursday at the County Ground. England beat India by nine wickets in the fourth match of the five-game series. As a result, the hosts now hold a commanding 3-0 lead. Therefore, England have already secured the series with one match still to play.

India batted first and posted 158-7 in their 20 overs. Captain Shreyas Iyer carried the innings on his shoulders. He remained unbeaten on 80 from just 49 balls. He struck four fours and five sixes along the way. However, the rest of the batting order struggled badly.

Shivam Dube made 22 off 23 balls, adding two boundaries. Opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi managed only 15 from 10 deliveries. Abhishek Sharma contributed 16 off 14 balls. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan endured a tough outing, scoring just four runs. Tilak Varma chipped in with 11 off eight balls. Washington Sundar and Axar Patel fell for five and one respectively.

England’s bowlers shared the workload evenly. Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue each picked up two wickets. Will Jacks and Adil Rashid also chipped in with one wicket apiece. Additionally, tight fielding kept India’s scoring rate under control throughout the innings.

In reply, England chased the target with ease. Phil Salt and Harry Brook set the tone from the very first over. The pair lost only one wicket in 13.5 overs. Brook blazed to 79 off just 35 balls, hitting eight fours and four sixes. Salt stayed unbeaten on 59 from 42 deliveries, striking nine fours and a six. Consequently, England raced past the target well ahead of schedule.

Jos Buttler was the only batter to fall for England. Arshdeep Singh dismissed him after a run-a-ball innings of eight. Still, the wicket barely dented England’s charge toward victory. Finally, the result confirmed England’s dominance across the series so far.

The fifth and final T20I will now be played in Southampton on Saturday. India will look to salvage some pride, while England will aim to complete a clean sweep.