England registered a nine-wicket victory in the fourth T20I at the Bristol County Ground, creating history by defeating India for the first time in a bilateral T20I series in a match of two or more matches.The victory gave Harry Brooke’s side an undisputed 3-0 lead in the five-match series after being eliminated in the first game, a landmark achievement against one of the strongest T20 teams in the world. The defeat also highlighted India’s recent struggles in the tournament. This is the first time India has lost consecutive bilateral T20I series since February 2019, after losing 2-0 to Ireland earlier this year. The last such instance occurred in 2019 when India lost 2-1 to New Zealand and then lost 0-2-0 at home to Australia.
Brooke and Salter rewrote the record
England’s emphatic chase of 159 was aided by an unbeaten 146-run partnership between captain Harry Brooke and opener Phil Salt, the fourth-highest partnership against India in T20I history and one of the largest ever in a successful chase.
Top partnership with India in T20Is
| partnership | team | site | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 174* – Quinton de Kock and David Miller | South Africa | Guwahati | 2022 |
| 170* – Alex Hales and Jos Buttler | England | Adelaide (T20 World Cup SF) | 2022 |
| 152* – Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | Dubai (T20 World Cup) | 2021 |
| 146 – Harry Brooke and Phil Salt* | England | Bristol | 2026 |
| 133 – David Warner & Shane Watson | Australia | Colombo (T20 World Cup) | 2012 |
Brooke remained unbeaten on 79 and Salter not out on 59 as England chased down the target in just 13.5 overs to win by 37 balls.
One of England’s biggest chases
The clinical chase also entered England’s record books. The win was England’s joint-second-highest wicket win in a successful 150-plus wicket chase, equaling their nine-wicket victory over South Africa in a 192-run chase in Cape Town in 2020. Only England’s famous 10-wicket win over India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-finals, when they chased 169 wickets without losing a single wicket, ranks higher.Among full member nations, England’s chase also became the joint-fourth fastest to successfully chase 150-plus goals in terms of balls remaining.
150+ successful chases with the most balls remaining (full member)
| Number of balls remaining | match |
|---|---|
| 60 | India vs New Zealand, Guwahati (2026) |
| 43 | New Zealand vs South Africa, 2026 T20 World Cup |
| 37 | West Indies vs South Africa, Kingston (2024) |
| 37 | England vs India, Bristol (2026) |
| 33 | England vs Pakistan, Lahore (2022) |
Captains command from the front
The Bristol game also set another rare milestone. This was the 37th men’s T20I in which both captains scored more than 50 runs, the 16th edition involving two full member nations and the first between India and England.
