India defeated England in the deciding 5th T20I by 36 runs. The blues were 2-1 down in the series but then responded strongly by winning the last 2 matches despite losing the toss. India have now won 7 and tied 1 out of their last 8 T20I series.
Here are the 3 talking points after the series win:
The return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar-
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's comeback is the biggest positive for India in this series. The Indian pace bowler hurt himself during the IPL 2020 clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings. In the last over of his spell, Bhuvneshwar limped off the field after just one ball and was ruled out of the tournament and hence did not travel to Australia with the national side. Bhuvneshwar picked 4 wickets in the series at an economy rate of just 6.38. In the decider, he was given the man of the match for a game-changing performance.
Debutant's impact-
Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan were handed their international debuts in the Series. Both the players managed to make an instant impact as they got one half-century each. Captain Virat Kohli praised both the youngsters for the intent they showed. Suryakumar Yadav was the one whose debut was long overdue. His absence from the national side has invited a large amount of criticism towards the selectors. Now that he has had an impact in his debut series, his place is somewhat cemented in the squad.
The perfect opening pair-
India tried 4 different opening pairs in the 5 matches. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opened the batting in the last match. The pair put together 94 runs. In a post-match interview, Virat Kohli said that he would like to open the batting now that the middle order is strong. The Indian captain also said that he'll open the batting for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming IPL. The Rohit-Virat opening pair looks ideal for the T20 world cup as the pair compliments each other well.
