England fuming after controversial India win in T20 International series

Cheating claims have surfaced after India claimed a 15-run victory against England in their fourth T20 International in Pune.

England was left fuming after Harshit Rana — who claimed three wickets in his controversial appearance — was allowed to come into the action as a concussion substitute.

The victory has given India an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, but a storm has erupted with great of the game all questioning why Rana was allowed to play.

Put in to bat on Friday, India overcame Saqib Mahmood’s three-wickets-in-an-over burst to post a competitive 9-181 following half-centuries by Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.

But allrounder Dube was hit on the helmet by a Jamie Overton bouncer in the second last ball of the Indian innings, and then replaced by seamer Rana, despite it not being a like-for-like replacement (as the concussion substitute rules’ mandate).

Cricket legend Kevin Pietersen slamming was scathing of the decision.

“If you ask anybody in the world whether Harshit Rana is a like-for-like replacement, I’m not sure anyone would say that they are,” Pietersen said.

“He gets an extra bit of pace. He is a tall, bustling fast bowler. I can tell you something now, that England dressing room will not be happy. Jos Buttler wasn’t happy when he got out because of the substitution. It’s not like for like.”

Other England greats also weighed in.

Former captain Michael Vaughan called it straight out, saying they had “replaced a batter with a bowler”, while another former England captain Alastair Cook said the decision “makes no sense to me whatsoever”.

“He should not be allowed to bowl there,” Cook fumed TNT Sports.

While Dube is considered an allrounder, he rarely bowls.

And England captain Jos Buttler was livid as he made that point after the match.

“It’s not a like-for-like replacement,” Buttler told reporters.

“Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25mph with the ball, or Harshit has really improved his batting.

“There was no consultation (with us). That’s something I was thinking as I came out to bat – who is Harshit on for?

“They said he is a concussion replacement, which I obviously disagreed with. It is not a like-for-like replacement. They said that the match referee had made the decision. We had no say in it or any part of it. But we’ll ask Javagal (Srinath) some questions just to get some clarity around it.

“Like I said, it was not the whole reason why we did not win the match. We had our chances to win the game which we could have still taken. But I’d like to have a bit more clarity on that.”

Wisden editor Lawrence Booth said on social media that “England should have won that game regardless”.

“Allowing Harshit Rana to be a like-for-like replacement for Shivam Dube has opened a giant can of worms for future concussion substitutes,” he said.

And sports editor Vikrant Gupta said: “More than a Concussion Sub, Harshit Rana qualified as an Impact player; and we all know impact players aren’t allowed in T20 internationals. India won. But it all didn’t really add up honestly.

Chasing 9-181, England were 166 all out with two deliveries left in their innings.

Rana returned the figures of 3-33.

“When Dube came back, two overs into the chase, I was told (about being the concussion substitute),” Rana told the broadcasters.

“I have been waiting for this moment to prove myself,” he added, of his “dream debut”.

England fast bowler Saqib also impressed on 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, No.3 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 counter-attacked 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.

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 1-62 after the first six powerplay overs compared to India’s 3-47.

But India struck back through spin as Ravi Bishnoi (3-28) dismissed Duckett and Jos 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.

– With AAP