IND VS ENG - 4th T20I, England tour of India, 2021

Okay. A belter. A thriller. A batting-first victory. A choke. Umpiring controversies. A newbie outshining the senior pros. An overdose of cutters. And even more dew. It may've taken four games to come, but this is the cricket we're used to watching in India, with India. So this was me, Vineet Anantharaman, scribbling it out for you in the company of Abhinand Raghavendran, Rishi Roy and our scorer, Mukesh Gowda. Until Saturday, and 3-2 one way or the other (with a superover thrown in as well), ta ta!!

Suryakumar Yadav | MoM: Really happy with the way things went. I have always dreamt of playing for India and winning games for the team. Just trying to be myself, I keep talking to myself and keep things very simple. The team management and Virat asked me to keep it simple and do what I have been doing in the IPL all along.

Virat Kohli | Winning skipper: Proper game against a top side in this format. The wicket was better than any other game and the dew factor was massive, bigger than any other game as well. The wicket allowed us to get to that total. There were a few instances in the middle which were strange, but having said that 180+ was what we were looking at. Special mention to Surya, he batted outstandingly well in his first game. Similar to Ishan. They are quite fearless having played in the IPL. We don't have any T20Is after this so I want the guys to be confident and come out of it very strongly. With the ball we were quite clinical. Shardul turned it around but our powerplay start kept England in check and under pressure. [On the third umpire's calls] There was an instance during the Test series when I was next to Jinks and he clearly caught the ball but he wasn't sure so we went upstairs. If it is a half and half effort and the fielder is in doubt, there is no way the umpire from square leg can see it clearly. The soft signal becomes that important and it becomes tricky. I don't know why there can't be an 'I don't know' call with the umpires as well. It is similar to umpire's call as well. These are decisions that can change the course of the game, especially in these big games. We were on the receiving side today, and tomorrow it could be some other team. You want these ironed out and keep the game really simple and linear. It isn't ideal in high pressure games and we want a lot of clarity on the field. [On him missing out on the field] I ran for a ball and threw it and I just aggravated my quad a little bit and I didn't want to make it into a niggle or an injury. We have another game in two days and I took the smart decision of going out. [On Surya] It's not easy to walk in at three in your first game and we all were stunned. He stamped his authority and allowed the likes of Shreyas, Hardik and Pant to do their job. I am a fan of these youngsters. I am more happy for Hardik who bowled his four overs. It augers well for us if he does it for us. He was potent with the new ball. He has skill with the ball and he clicked 140+ as well. He put enough pressure on Roy and then got Sam Curran out as well in the end. His role in the defence in the end was very crucial.

Eoin Morgan | Losing skipper: It's definitely been the closest game so far and India played much better and thoroughly deserve the win. There was a lot more dew throughout the game and the game ebbed and flowed a lot. The swing and momentum of the game went back to India and the the last over made it interesting. We are just trying to learn as much as we can in this series. The progression to the World Cup in seven months is important. We were very happy at the half way stage knowing that dew was around. The ball didn't turn much and we were in control. In overs 16 and 17 we lost three wickets in eight balls and that set us back. It just leaves too much for the bowlers against a top quality side. Bairstow and Stokes got themselves in. Starting fresh isn't easy, but they managed to negate that. Their experience took over and they took their options. Frustrating though then in the end to not get through despite the experience we have. We really want to play in must win games like these. Certainly all to play for now. Playing away from home and winning will be great.

Shanmukh Gupta: "Giving MOM Hardik is the correct I guess. He took 2 wickets and bowled at 4 RPO in a T20. Just give it to him I say." - Certainly a tough call between Hardik and the crucial wickets from Shardul at the death.

Shardul Thakur: There was a lot of dew in this match, which wasn't true of the last three matches. They were swinging hard in the last over, and it was important to bowl a couple of dot balls and then the game was sealed. The dry ball worked for them, and when I tried a slow bouncer it was in the slot and it went for six. If we bowled the slow ones on the stumps it would've been easy to hit, so the target was to keep it away from their power zone. If the ball is drier, it's easier to grip for the knuckle ball. I am enjoying myself, and bowling in times when batsmen are going hard at us. Hardik had some plans but Rohit just wanted me to back my instinct. He mentioned one side of the ground is shorter and just asked me to keep it in mind and asked me to apply myself.

23:15 Local Time, 17:45 GMT: Wow, quite a turnaround. Forget when Stokes and Bairstow were going bonkers, it was alive right until the penultimate delivery with Thakur suddenly losing his plot. Never mind, it was he who turned it around in the first place with two wickets in that 17th over. This was clearly England's chase to lose, having done really well to set it up, first with Roy reversing a poor start with a flurry of boundaries, and then with Stokes and Bairstow piling on the poor spinners who could barely grip the ball. But India fought the dew with their experience of Bhuvi (1/30) and Pandya (2/16), who dished out cutter after cutter after, drew toe-ends, drew miscues, and made sure England choked. But for a change, it's the first innings and India's batting that saw them through tonight. They've finally seemed to have adopted a strategy of going big right from the start instead of one batsman looking to anchor and bat through the innings. They owe this victory to those 20 extra runs. Okay, the presentations are here, stay put, and read ..

Thakur to Jofra Archer, no run, swing, miss, and 2-2. Full, outside off, and Thakur has his redemption. Archer has a full-blooded tonk, but all of it is outside the line

Adil Rashid, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Thakur to Jordan, out Caught by Hardik Pandya!! Back of a length, a swing, a miscue and long-off. India can breathe. The choking is officially over. Jordan's a little too leg-sided to get much on this swipe of his, and the toe-end only goes that far, that tamely. Jordan c Hardik Pandya b Thakur 12(9) [4s-1]

Thakur to Jordan, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Thakur to Jofra Archer, 1 run, finally lands his length, outside off. Archer swings big, breaks his bat, and chips this tamely to long-off. Ah, that should seal things

Thakur to Jofra Archer, wide, it's a new dry ball, and the yorker's slipped out of Thakur's hands to end up outside the pitch outside off. It's not the ball, it's just pressure, sheer pressure. In fact had it not been for Pant's seriously good dive, it really could've been more

Thakur to Jofra Archer, wide, too short, slow, loopy, and well outside off. Yea, very high

India have a conference. Rohit's talking. Pandya's talking. Kohli's not on the field, but he's pointing at something from the dugout. Thakur better listen. 12 runs | 3 balls.

Thakur to Jofra Archer, SIX, short, into the body, and this new dry ball stays up nicely with true bounce for Archer to trust, line it up and then swat it away deep over cow corner

They're changing the ball. With four legal deliveries to go, India get a dry new ball. Well, well.

Thakur to Jofra Archer, FOUR, feeds the slot -- Thakur misses his yorker, dishes out good length in Archer's arc and finds it pumped straight down the ground. 18 runs | 4 balls

Thakur to Jordan, 1 run, yea, cutter. Genius! Back of a length, keeping it outside off and Jordan's early through his pull, inside-edging it past his stumps to fine leg

Shardul Thakur [3.0-0-28-2] is back into the attack

Right, 23 runs | 6 balls. Deep point. Long-off. Long-on. Deep square leg. Deep mid-wicket. Cutters, cutters and more cutters ..