England skipper Harry Brook eyes No.1 ranking in T20Is with 4-0 rout of India
Chasing a modest 158 for 7, Brook led from the front with an unbeaten 79 off 35 balls and, along with Phil Salt (59 not out in 42 overs), shared an unconquered 146-run partnership to power England to a comfortable nine-wicket win in the fourth T20I on Thursday and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
If England win the final T20I in Southampton on Friday, they will displace world champions India at the top.
Also Read: PM Modi announced that the opening match of the Big Bash Cricket League will be played in India
“It would be pretty nice to go to the world No.1 and have England get to the semi-finals,” Brook said after Thursday’s match.
“We were told that if we won the next game we would go to the world No.1 and it is definitely a reward we have been waiting for. India are a strong side. They are probably not as good (in this series) as they have been in the last few years but we are really happy with the way we have executed our plans.”
“Honestly, beating India 4-0 would have been a very special series win and going to No 1 in the world would have been even better,” he added. Brook “did not expect” such a straightforward march against India in the ongoing series but said the results so far were a fair reflection of the progress England have made in the shorter formats of the game.
Also Read: England beat India by nine wickets in 4th T20I to clinch the series
“To be brutally honest, the white-ball side have been on a really good track. We’re playing extremely good cricket. We’re adapting to the grounds and conditions really well. We’ve had a good World Cup: we fell just short of 250 in the chase at Wankhede, which is incredible,” he said.
“I think it (this series) might have changed the tone (about English cricket) a little bit, but we still have one more game to play. Hopefully we can get to the world No 1 and beat a very strong Indian side.”
