Jos Buttler's extraordinary 131 off 64 balls turned the fifth T20 at Southampton into a statement win for England, who beat India by 56 runs to complete a 4-0 series sweep.
It was a result with real weight beyond the scoreline. England's highest total against India, 257-3 in 20 overs, moved them to the top of the world rankings, while India lost their number one ranking after a tour that began with shock defeats to Ireland and left them winless in a five-match T20 series for the first time.
Buttler and Brook set the tone
described the display simply as a chance to watch the best of Harry Brook and Buttler as England went big against India, and that was exactly how the match unfolded. Buttler was the headline act, but Brook's 95* off 45 deliveries made sure England kept the pressure on throughout the innings.
The numbers tell their own story. Buttler reached three figures in 34 balls, finished with 131, and ended a barren run that had stretched across 18 consecutive innings. It was his second T20 international century, and one that arrived when England needed a dominant response rather than just a useful contribution.
Brook was just as important in the way he extended the innings. His unbeaten 95 gave England a finish that India simply could not match, even with 20 overs still available to them as a target-chase remained in theory alive.
India's chase never settled
India were left with too much to do after England's total. The chase ended on 201-8, 56 runs short of the target, despite 56 from 35 balls and 53 from 25 balls in the pursuit.
For India, the wider concern is that this defeat added to a difficult stretch in which they have now suffered six completed 20-over defeats in a row. Against an England side that had already done the damage with the bat, there was never a stage of the chase where the visitors looked fully in control.
England, by contrast, will take confidence from the balance of the performance. Buttler's return to form, Brook's support, and the scale of the total made this feel like more than a one-off. It was a complete series-clinching display.
What comes next
The attention now shifts quickly to the five-match one-day international series, which starts at Edgbaston on Tuesday at 11:00 BST. England will go in with momentum, while India must try to reset after a heavy T20 series defeat that leaves them with more questions than answers.
