India beat England to seal T20 cricket series as sub Rana vexes Buttler

India survive late England rally after a mini-collapse of their own to seal five-match series with a game to spare.

Harshit Rana has claimed three wickets in his debatable appearance as a concussion substitute to help India to a series-clinching, 15-run victory against England in the fourth T20 International.

India overcame Saqib Mahmood’s three-wicket burst on Friday to post a competitive 181-9 after half-centuries by Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.

England were 166 all out with two deliveries left in their innings as India grabbed an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

All-rounder Dube was hit on the helmet by a Jamie Overton bouncer, and seamer Rana replaced him despite it not being a like-for-like replacement as concussion substitute rules mandate.

“When Dube came back two overs into the chase, I was told [about being the concussion substitute],” Rana told broadcasters. “I have been waiting for this moment to prove myself,” he said of his “dream debut”.

India’s Harshit Rana celebrates the wicket of England’s Jamie Overton [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

England captain Jos Buttler was less impressed, however.

“It’s not a like-for-like replacement. We don’t agree with that,” Buttler told reporters after the game. “Dube has either put on 25 miles per hour [40 kilometres per hour] with the ball or Harshit Rana has really improved his batting.

“I still think we should have gone on to win the match, but we disagree with the decision.”

England fast bowler Saqib also impressed on his debut as he began with a three-wicket maiden over to rattle India at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium.

India opener Sanju Samson fluffed his pull shot, number three Tilak Varma perished at deep third leg and captain Suryakumar Yadav was caught at short mid-on, prolonging his lean patch in the series.

Abhishek Sharma (29) and Rinku Singh (30) propped up India before the left-right combination of Dube and Pandya counterattacked during their 87-run partnership.

Pandya and Dube smashed identical 53s, but India managed only three runs from the eventful last over from Overton, losing three wickets in the process.

Harry Brook top-scored for England in the chase [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

Phil Salt (23) and Ben Duckett (39) milked 32 runs from the first three overs of India’s seam bowling, prompting Suryakumar to employ spin from both ends.

Thanks to their unbridled aggression, England were 62-1 after the first six powerplay overs compared with India’s 47-3.

India struck back through spin as Ravi Bishnoi (3-28) dismissed Duckett and Buttler in his successive overs while Axar Patel removed Salt.

Harry Brook (51) hit Rana for back-to-back sixes en route to a 25-ball fifty, but Varun Chakravarthy turned the match on its head, claiming two wickets in his final over.

Brook fell attempting a scoop shot against the spinner, and two balls later, Brydon Carse was snared at deep square leg as India tightened their grip on the contest.

Mumbai hosts the fifth and final T20 International on Sunday, which will be followed by three one-dayers between the sides.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies