England slumped to a record T20 defeat as Abhishek Sharma’s scintillating century powered India to a 150-run win in Mumbai.
The 24-year-old opener blasted 135 from 54 balls- the highest score by an Indian batter in a T20 international- including 13 sixes and seven fours as the hosts reached 247-9.
Chasing a near insurmountable target, Jos Buttler’s side crumbled in their reply and were skittled for just 97 in 10.3 overs – a record defeat by margin of runs – as they lost the series 4-1.
Having been put into bat on a good surface at the Wankhede Stadium, India blew England away in the powerplay to reach 95-1 after the first six overs.
Abhishek brought up his fifty from 17 balls, then powered on to reach his century in 37 deliveries – the third fastest in a match between Test-playing nations.
He hit his 13th and final six, another national record, one ball before he was finally dismissed, caught on the cover boundary by Jofra Archer off Adil Rashid.
Phil Salt did his best to keep England up with the required rate, hitting 55 from 23 at the top of the order, but no other batter passed 10 in a dismal chase.
India seamer Mohammed Shami took 3-25, while Abhishek claimed 2-3 from his single over, removing both Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton.
Mark Wood was the last batter to fall, caught behind on review, with England ending their first white-ball series under coach Brendon McCullum with one of their heaviest defeats.
Wankhede crowd hails new hero
When he finally walked off after holing out to Archer, Abhishek’s name echoed around the famous ground as a gleeful crowd celebrated a new hero.
The opener, who had scored 79 in the opening match of the series but not passed 29 in three subsequent innings, was the star of the show, scoring 105 more runs than any other India batter.
He began his charge in the third over, lashing England strike bowler Archer for consecutive sixes on the off side.
Fourteen runs followed off Wood, before more back-to-back sixes off Archer’s fifth over sealed the second-fastest T20 international century by an Indian.
The run to bring up his century, by contrast, was a more understated affair – a single into the covers off Carse’s first ball after drinks.
After that, Abhishek struggled to get on strike and faced only 17 more deliveries, although that included a flurry of three sixes in his final six balls.
India’s supporting cast featured Shivam Dube (30 from 13) and Sanju Samson (16 from seven), who both batted at a strike rate over 200, while Tilak Varma hit 24 from 15. (BBC)