Jos Buttler produced one of the greatest T20I innings of his career as England piled up a daunting 257/3 against India in the fifth and final T20I at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, rewriting multiple records along the way.After being put into bat, England were rocked early when Phil Salt departed for just six. But what followed was a batting masterclass from Buttler and captain Harry Brook, who combined for a breathtaking 233-run partnership for the second wicket to leave India’s bowlers with no answers.The stand is now the highest second-wicket partnership in T20I history, surpassing the unbeaten 210-run stand between Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2024. It is also the second-highest partnership for any wicket in men’s T20Is, behind only Afghanistan’s 236-run opening stand by Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani against Ireland in 2019.Buttler was the chief destroyer, smashing 131 off just 64 deliveries, an innings laced with fearless strokeplay all around the ground. The knock was not only his highest individual score in T20I cricket, but also the highest individual score ever recorded against India in T20Is, eclipsing Evin Lewis’ unbeaten 125 for the West Indies in 2017.
Highest individual scores against India in T20Is
| Player | Score | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jos Buttler | 131 | Southampton | 2026 |
| Evin Lewis | 125* | Kingston | 2017 |
| Shane Watson | 124* | Sydney | 2016 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 113* | Bengaluru | 2019 |
| Josh Inglis | 110 | Visakhapatnam | 2023 |
While Buttler dominated, The England skipper Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 95 off 45 balls, bringing up a blistering half-century in just 19 deliveries as the duo kept the scoreboard ticking at over 13 runs an over. India finally broke the marathon stand in the penultimate over when Shivam Dube dismissed Buttler before removing Jacob Bethell off the very next delivery. Dube finished with 2/22, while Prasidh Krishna claimed the other wicket by dismissing Salt in his first over.