An all-round performance from England’s bowlers overshadowed Varun Chakravarthy’s impressive five-wicket haul as the visitors secured a commanding 26-run victory over India in the third T20I in Rajkot, bouncing back in style after back-to-back defeats in the series.
England’s total of 171 appeared modest at best, yet they redeemed themselves brilliantly with the ball, restricting India’s formidable batting line-up to a mere 145.
All eyes were on Mohammed Shami as he made his long-awaited return to the Indian team after 14 months. The veteran pacer looked a bit rusty and finished with figures of 0/25 from three overs, not quite at his best. With Arshdeep Singh rested, Hardik Pandya shared the new ball with Shami and made an immediate impact by dismissing Phil Salt early.
Despite the early setback, Ben Duckett and Jos Buttler counter-attacked with a 76-run partnership. Duckett was in sublime form, racing to his second T20I half-century with ease. Meanwhile, Buttler struggled to find his rhythm and laboured to 24 off 22 balls.
The introduction of spin slowed England’s momentum. Buttler, while attempting to accelerate, was trapped by Varun, thanks to a smart review suggested by Sanju Samson. An over later, Duckett perished to Axar Patel, mistiming a shot soon after reaching his milestone.
Harry Brook’s struggles against wrist-spin continued as he inside-edged an attempted sweep onto the stumps off Ravi Bishnoi’s bowling. England’s woes deepened as Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton departed in quick succession, with Varun weaving his magic to dismantle the batting line-up.
From a dominant position at 83/1, England plunged into disarray, collapsing to 127/8 as India’s spin trio claimed seven wickets between them. Liam Livingstone then took it upon himself to counter-attack, playing cautiously against Varun but unleashing his aggression against Bishnoi. He smashed the leggie for three sixes in the 17th over, only to fall to Pandya while attempting another big shot in the next over.
At nine down, England seemed unlikely to bat out their 20 overs, but a gritty 24-run last-wicket stand helped the visitors drag their total past 170, a total that proved to be enough.
In the run chase, India once again lost wickets in the Powerplay. Sanju fell to Jofra Archer for the third time in the series, Brydon Carse accounted for Abhishek Sharma and Mark Wood dismissed Suryakumar Yadav. With India reeling at 48/3, their hopes rested on an in-form Tilak Varma. The southpaw made a promising start but was outfoxed by Adil Rashid, departing for 18.
Chasing 172 was not easy on a pitch that became a bit two-paced. The ball was turning sharply, and slower deliveries were gripping the surface. India’s decision to promote Axar and Washington Sundar ahead of Dhruv Jurel backfired, as neither could make an impact. In truth, nothing seemed to click for India with the bat after the early loss of three key wickets. Pandya battled valiantly, trying to take the game deep and engineer an improbable win for his side, but the asking rate proved to be insurmountable, leaving India well short in the end.