Brook 79, Salt 59 as England beat India by 9 wickets to win T20 series in Bristol

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Fourth T20i: England, 159-1 beat India, 158-6, by 9 wickets

Brook scores 79, Salt 59 to win with six overs remaining

England’s recent heatwave continued in Bristol, India wilting to lose their cool, the game and the series in what turned into another bizarrely one-sided encounter. Timid with the bat, poor in the field, error-prone with the ball and swift to accept the inevitability of defeat, this was a complete horror show from the world champions and a performance of complete dominance from Harry Brook’s burgeoning team, who won by nine wickets and will overtake their opponents as world No1 if they win the final game of the series in Southampton on Saturday.

Two days earlier it was England’s bowlers who shredded their opponents on their way to a 125-run win at Trent Bridge. This time, well as their bowlers performed to limit India to 159, it was their batters – and one of them in particular. Chasing an obviously under-par total, England started slowly and awkwardly and Jos Buttler was dismissed early for eight – the former captain’s form is a genuine issue, and he has not scored an international half-century in this format since the Old Trafford runfest against South Africa last September, a run of 18 innings in which he has averaged just 15.16. But his departure brought out his successor, Brook scooped his second ball for six, and from that moment there was no stopping him.

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