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Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya overtook former batter Shikhar Dhawan to become country's fifth-highest run-getter in T20Is.
Pandya accomplished this movement up in charts during the fourth T20I against England at Pune on Friday. During the match, Pandya came in clutch, scoring a brilliant 53 in 34 balls, with seven fours and two sixes, lifting his team from a poor position of 79/5 to 181/9 in their 20 overs. His runs came at a strike rate of over 155. Now in 113 T20Is and 89 innings, Pandya has scored 1,803 runs at an average of 28.17 and a strike rate of 141.63. He has scored five half-centuries, with best score of 71*. On the other hand, in 68 matches, Dhawan scored 1,759 runs at an average of 27.92 and a strike rate of 126.36, with best score of 92 and 11 fifties in 66 innings. The highest run-getter for India in T20Is is former T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma, with 4,231 runs in 159 matches and 151 innings at an average of 32.05 and a strike rate of 140.89. He scored five centuries and 32 fifties, with best score of 121*. He is followed by Virat Kohli (4,188 runs in 125 matches at an average of 48.69, with a century and 38 fifties) and Suryakumar Yadav (2,596 runs in 82 matches and 78 innings at an average of 38.74, with four centuries and 21 fifties). Coming to the match, England won the toss and elected to field first. India was reduced to 12/3 by pacer Saqib Mahmood (3/35) after he got Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav in one over. Abhishek Sharma (29 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Rinku Singh (30 in 26 balls, with four boundaries and a six) played crucial knocks, but India still reeled at 79/5. An 87-run partnership between Hardik Pandya (53 in 34 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Dube (53 in 30 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) helped India reach 181/9 in their 20 overs. Overton (4/32) and Adil Rashid (1/35) also bowled fine spells. In the run-chase, Phil Salt (23 in 21 balls, with four boundaries) and Ben Duckett (39 in 19 balls, with seven fours) put England to a fine start, adding 62 runs for the first wicket. However, Indian spinners helped the hosts bounce back and left England at 95/4. Harry Brook (51 in 26 balls, with five fours and two sixes) did score a half-century, but wickets fell quickly on the other end, with Harshit (3/33) and spinner Ravi Bishnoi (3/28) taking the spotlight. England was restricted at 166 and lost by 15 runs. Dube got the 'Player of the Match' award. India has won the series 3-1. (ANI)
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