England seal first bilateral T20I series win over India with Bristol rout

England turned the fifth match of India’s tour into a statement at the County Ground in Bristol, beating India by nine wickets with 37 balls remaining to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. The result gave England their first multi-match bilateral T20I series win over India and left India staring at consecutive T20I series defeats for the first time since 2018-19.

India reached 158/7 after Shreyas Iyer, who won the toss for the fourth match in a row and chose to bat, carried the innings with an unbeaten 80. He had little sustained support around him, and England’s chase was ruthless from the start. Harry Brook was named Player of the Match after hammering 79 not out from 35 balls, while Phil Salt finished 59 not out as England raced to 159/1 in 13.5 overs.

The margin underlined how quickly England have seized control of the series. The opening win in Bristol came after India had already been routed for 76 in the third T20I at Trent Bridge, a 125-run defeat that prompted Iyer to call the performance “atrocious”. England’s pace attack of Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue had shared seven wickets in Nottingham, and India never fully recovered from that collapse.

Bristol added a different kind of pressure: India could not build on Iyer’s resistance, and England’s batting pair removed any doubt before the chase had time to become tense. Brook’s power and Salt’s clean hitting made the target of 159 look modest, and England closed the match with enough overs unused to expose the gap between the sides on the night.

The series scoreline also sharpened the scrutiny on India’s recent T20 form. After a loss in Nottingham and another heavy defeat in Bristol, the team was on the brink of consecutive series defeats for the first time in seven years, while England, under Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum, kept extending a strong run in the format.