T20I series: Gautam Gambhir has reasons to smile after quite a while

Gautam Gambhir will be smiling again after quite a few months since he took charge of the Indian team. There were a number of fresh aces in the pack in the crunch fourth game in Pune which helped them hold on to their T20 vision and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-game series against England.

It’s difficult to recall when did the T20 World Cup champions last lose a series  - while they lost only two of the 26 matches they played in the format last year. The problem of plenty in the talent bank, which the Men in Blue boasts of in white ball cricket, may detract the fans from their woeful performance in last two Test series – but then let’s keep it for another day.

A closer look at the series reveals that Jos Buttler’s men did not acquit themselves badly at all except the first game in Kolkata. The contest was closer than what the scoreline suggests as England did a manful job in trying to defend their total in Chennai before losing by two wickets, choking a powerful batting line-up in Rajkot to pull one back – while concussion sub Harshit Rana kept his nerves to orchestrate a 15-run win in Pune.

There was, however, a legitimate question whether pace bowler Rana was actually a like-for-like substitute for Shivam Dube, who was struck on the helmet while batting. ‘’It’s not a like-for-like replacement, we don’t agree with that,’’ Buttler said later. ‘’Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25 mph with the ball or Harshit has really improved his batting,’’ the dig in the rival captain’s voice was hard to miss.

Just ponder at the depth of this Indian line-up: Dube, a member of the World T20 triumph, got his first game in the series. Harshit, a favourite of head coach Gambhir ever since delivering for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024, made a lot of difference at the backend with a haul of three for 33.

The best part about this bunch under the easygoing, but proactive leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, is that they look prepared for the odd bad day in office. The disastrous powerplay on Friday was a very good example when debutant Saqib Mahmood sent shivers down the spines of the top order – claiming Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and SKY in an eventful second over to leave India tottering at 12 for three. When did you last see a triple wicket maiden in this format?

However, Dube and Hardik Pandya went all guns blazing for the sixth wicket – with a range of fiery cricketing shots for an 87-run partnership which put India back on course for a par total.

The England opening pair of Phil Salt and Ben Duckett took the challenge head on to have their best powerplay in the series so far. SKY introduced the skiddy Ravi Bishnoi in the sixth over and it yielded immediate dividends as he prised out Duckett – who was going at a strike rate of 205.26.

It was a pleasure to see Harry Brook doing justice to his new-found reputation and England looked like making a match of it before Bishnoi and Rana had the last laugh. A day’s break is all that the two teams will have as the last match of the series is at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday – only 119 kms away.

Catch the match

 India vs England (Sunday)

 Fifth T20I in Mumbai

 Start: 7 pm