England produced another acceptable batting performance to tame India in the third Twenty20 International at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Wicketkeeper-opening batsman Jos Buttler's unbeaten 83 ensured England regained the lead in the series and retained the top spot in the ICC T20I Rankings.
undefined
Winning the toss, England skipper Eoin Morgan elected to bat, as he made a change, with pacer Mark Wood replacing fellow pacer Tom Curran. Meanwhile, Kohli made a change, with senior opener Rohit Sharma replacing Suryakumar Yadav.
undefined
With opener KL Rahul failing to click three games in a row, India's poor start continued, as he fell for an unfortunate duck in the third over, with just seven runs on board, while Wood knocked him over. It was 13 runs later when Rohit departed for cheap and managed to score 15, as Jofra Archer caught him off Wood.
undefined
Young opener Ishan Kishan walked in next, who had opened in the last game. However, he could contribute just four before pacer Chris Jordan made him caught behind by Jos Buttler, as the score read 243.
undefined
In came wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and contributed 20 more for the fourth wickets with Kohli before the former was unluckily run out for 25, following a late call from the latter. At 86, Shreyas Iyer fell for just nine to Wood after being caught by Malan, while Kohli seemed to be in good touch.
undefined
As explosive all-rounder Hardik Pandya walked in, Kohli managed to bring up his 28th T20I half-century, while the pair also produced a 50-plus stand. They batted out until the end, as India finished on a regular total of 1566.
undefined
For England, six bowlers were utilised, with Wood being the most successful and economical of all.
undefined
The English openers were off to a steady start, with Jason Roy the first to depart for a mere nine at 23 as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal made him caught by Rohit Sharma at square leg. Nonetheless, it was followed by a 57-run stand between Buttler and Dawid Malan that helped build England's stance during the chase.
undefined
It was during this phase when Buttler brought up his 11th T20I half-century. However, at 81, Malan departed for 18 to spinner Washington Sundar after being stumped.
undefined
As Jonny Bairstow walked in, along with Buttler, the pair batted until the end to ensure a comfortable eight-wicket win. Meanwhile, the Indians utilised five bowlers, with Chahal and Sundar the only wicket-takers, while the latter was the most economical.Brief scores: India 1566 (Kohli 75*; Wood 331) lost to England 1582 (Buttler 83*; Bairstow 40*; Sundar 126) by eight wickets.
undefined