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Jos Buttler and Harry Brook toyed with the Indian bowling line-up tonight in the fifth match of the five-match T20 series in Southampton. The balls were flying all over the ground as Buttler and Brook were in full flow against the bowlers.
While Jos Buttler returned with 131 off 64, England captain Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 95 off 45; Both the batsmen batted at a strike rate of more than 200.
England made the highest ever T20I score against India in Southampton
Riding high on the double whirlwind, the Three Lions racked up a mountain of runs, scoring a total of 257 runs, a record against India. England lost only three wickets to reach the total. According to statistics, this is the highest score made by any team against India in this format.
Highest T20I total against India
257/3 eng southampton 2026
246/7 England Wankhede 2026
245/6 WI Lauderhill 2016
227/3 SA Indore 2022
Jos Buttler was the destroyer chief
Jos Buttler remained at the forefront against the Indian bowlers. The experienced opening batsman smashed the ball across the boundary twenty times: 12 fours and eight sixes. England captain Harry Brook was also present there to support Butler in this massacre.
Brook, who deserved a century, remained unbeaten on 95 off 45 balls with the help of four fours and eight sixes. Overall, Team India hit 17 sixes tonight, which is the second most by them in T20 Internationals, behind the 21 given against West Indies at Lauderhill in 2016.
According to Cricbuzz, the Men in Blue set another unwanted record through their substandard bowling: ‘India bowled five overs of 20+ runs today – the most by them in a T20I; He has never played more than three such overs in a T20I before.
Akshar Patel was the most expensive after bowling 4 overs.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan is among the experts who criticize the Indian bowling line-up. He mentioned that Jos Buttler, who was not in his best form, played fast. But the Indian bowlers also made mistakes as they bowled into the right-handed batsman’s arc several times.
Irfan Pathan said, “Jos Buttler is back in form. When he is in full flow he is a joy to watch. But how poorly we bowled to a player who was under pressure. Many balls were in his arc.”
Shivam Dubey was the most expensive bowler for India, as he gave away 22 runs in an over, but also took a few wickets in return.
Among the bowlers who completed their quota of 4 overs, Axar Patel was the most expensive as he gave away 63 runs without taking any wicket. Fast bowler Prince Yadav, who performed brilliantly in Nottingham, took two wickets and gave 60 runs in 4 overs. Suryanash Shedge, who bowled only 3 overs, gave away 39 runs.
While most of the bowlers returned with expensive figures, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna did a comparatively good job. Arshdeep did not get any wicket, but his economy rate was 8.25 and with the wicket of Phil Salt, Krishna’s economy rate also remained below ten.
