Virat Kohli was the top-scorer for India with his unbeaten 46-ball 77 as the hosts put up 156 for 6 in 20 overs. England chased down the target with 8 wickets in hand as Jos Buttler (83*) top-scored.
Jos Buttler (83*) and Jonny Bairstow (43*) helped England to comfortably chase down a target of 157 in the 3rd T20I in Ahmedabad on Tuesday as the visitors took a 2-1 series lead. England overhauled the target with 8 wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.
Virat Kohli’s brilliance wasn’t good enough to paper over an otherwise inept Indian batting performance as England humbled the hosts by eight wickets in the third T20 International to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, here on Tuesday.
Eoin Morgan unleashed his fast bowlers Mark Wood (3/31) and Chris Jordan (2/35) to restrict the hosts for 156 for six, which the visitors surpassed easily in 18.2 overs, riding on Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 83 off 52 balls.
Buttler in the Powerplay pounced on Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal in successive overs and England were never in danger of falling behind the run-rate after that.
He played the pacers and spinners with comforting ease, playing reverse slog sweeps interspersed between the lofted straight hits into the empty stands. In all, Buttler hit five fours and four sixes.
More than the Buttler’s blade, the difference between two sides was the sheer pace generated by England pacers after Morgan won another good toss.
Save Kohli, other Indian youngsters found it difficult to put bat to ball as pace and bounce off the pitch worked wonders for English speed merchants. The Indian skipper with his near perfect technique fought fire with fire, playing pull shots and the lofted hits, shuffling towards leg stump to make room for himself.
KL Rahul (0) was once again in the midst of a forgettable patch where all the good deliveries were being earmarked for him. Wood bowled one at 91 mph, that pitched on length and nipped back enough to breach through the opener’s defence before he could bring his bat down.
Rohit Sharma (15 off 17 balls) was playing his first game of the series and while he managed to read Adil Rashid’s googlies well, Wood’s well directed bouncer got him as he was holed out in the deep.
Ishan Kishan (4), after a dream debut, got a hostile welcome from Wood, who managed to soften the Jharkhand dasher.
India
Rohit Sharma c Archer b Wood 15
KL Rahul b Wood 0
Ishan Kishan c Buttler b Jordan 4
Virat Kohli not out 77
Rishabh Pant run out 25
Shreyas Iyer c Malan b Wood 9
Hardik Pandya c Archer b Jordan 17
Extras (b-1, lb-5, w-3) 9
Total (For 6 wickets, 20 Overs) 156
Bowling: Adil Rashid 4-0-26-0, Jofra Archer 4-0-32-0, Mark Wood 4-0-31-3, Chris Jordan 4-1-35-2, Ben Stokes 2-0-12-0, Sam Curran 2-0-14-0.
England
Jason Roy c Rohit b Chahal 9
Jos Buttler not out 83
Dawid Malan st Pant b Washington 18
Jonny Bairstow not out 40
Extras (b-4, lb-2, w-2) 8
Total (For 2 wkts, 18.2 Overs) 158
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-27-0, Shardul Thakur 3.2-0-36-0, Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-41-1, Hardik Pandya 3-0-22-0, Washington Sundar 4-0-26-1.
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