Virat Kohli’s unbeaten effort went in vain as India succumbed to an eight-wicket defeat against England in the third T20I of the ongoing five-match series in Ahmedabad. India posted 156/6 on the board riding on Kohli’s magnificent 46-ball 77 not out, but Jos Buttler’s effortless unbeaten 82 helped the visitors in chasing down the target with ease.
Eoin Morgan won the toss and kept the trend of bowling first in the series going. The English pacers produced a sensational opening spell once again as they reduced India to 24/3 by the sixth over. Mark Wood (4-0-31-3) dismissed both openers – KL Rahul (0) and Rohit Sharma (15) – after missing out on the last match due to an injury.
Chris Jordan got rid of Ishan Kishan (4), hero of the previous match, with a short delivery in the sixth over of the innings. That increased the pressure on India. Rishabh Pant joined Virat Kohli at the crease to resurrect India’s innings. They added 40 runs for the fourth wicket to steady India’s ship but a poor call for a single brought an unfortunate end to Pant’s innings.
Shreyas Iyer walked out to bat next but he couldn’t make an impact as he scored just nine off nine deliveries before being caught on the deep point boundary trying to smash a short ball for six. India’s score read 86/5 at that point with just 33 deliveries more to go.
However, Hardik Pandya and Kohli produced a terrific fightback as they added 70 runs for the sixth wicket. Hardik scored just 17 runs in that partnership, which sums up the importance of Kohli’s role.
Kohli, batting on 28 off 29 at one point, scored 49 off the next 17 deliveries. He smashed the English pacers to almost all parts of the ground. This was his second consecutive unbeaten fifty of the series after his 73 not out in the previous T20I.
The Indian bowlers started well in response, conceding just seven runs off the first two overs. However, Buttler and Jason Roy started opening up after that. Then Roy, who came into the match with scores of 46 and 49 in the two previous matches, got dismissed for just nine while attempting a reverse sweep off Yuzvendra Chahal in the fourth over.
There was no stopping Buttler, though. He hit Chahal for two sixes in the same over and continued with the same attacking approach throughout his innings. He dominated a stand of 58 runs for the second wicket with Dawid Malan (18). It was only when Jonny Bairstow (40 not out) joined him at the crease, and the required rate came under control, that he slowed down a bit. The pair put on 77 runs for the third wicket to guide England to an eight-wicket win.
Among Indian bowlers, Chahal and Shardul Thakur went for more than 10 per over. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-27-0) and Washington Sundar (4-0-26-1) came up with fine bowling efforts. They will need better returns from their other bowlers and their top order if they want to make a comeback in the next match.
Brief scores
India 156/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 77*; Mark Wood 3-31) lost to England 158/2 in 18.2 overs (Jos Buttler 83*; Washington Sundar 1-26) by 8 wickets with 10 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Jos Buttler.