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| Buttler with Malan in the middle of the innings |
After a stunning comeback from India in the Second T20I following a poor performance in the first match, the third match of this T20I Series was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium whoever due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, no spectators were allowed to attend the game and this rule will apply to the other games as well.
This time England won the toss and elected to field just like they did in the first game. England made one change from that defeat with Mark Wood replacing Tom Curran. Whereas for India, Rohit Sharma was picked in place of SuryaKumar Yadav.
Mark Wood who made his return to the starting eleven, gave England a head start in the 3rd over when he struck early to dismiss KL Rahul for a duck. Rahul disappointing form with the bat continued.
Just like the first game, India found themselves in serious trouble when Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan both were dismissed quickly inside the powerplay. India managed just 24 runs in their 6 overs of powerplay,losing three wickets in the process.
Last match's hero,Virat Kohli had to once again pull his side out of the hole. He was joined in this mission by Rishabh Pant. India were clearly off the pace and rightly so as they needed a partnership to stabilize the innings. At the end of the 10th over, India's score was 55/3.
At the start of the 12th over, Pant played a cut short in the deep and ran for a double. After some misfielding by Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, Kohli called for a third. Pant was a little late to respond but still answered it and well short at the bowler's end losing his wicket through run-out.
By the end of the 15th over, India had managed only 87 runs with the loss of 5 wickets as Shreyas Iyer was dismissed quickly as well. Kohli was then joined by Pandya and the Skipper decided to take matters in his own hand.
He took on the trio of Archer,Jordan and Wood and lashed out some magnificent shots in all directions. With the help of Pandya from the other end, India managed to add 69 runs as India finished with 156/6 with Pandya losing his wicket on the last ball. Kohli remained unbeaten at 77 runs from 46 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes as he played a Captain's Knock once again. Despite a slow start, India added 101 runs in the last 10 over as they posted a fighting total.
It was a scene of deja vu from the first match of the England batting. They eased passed the target in the first game and did they same in this match as well as Jos Buttler took centre stage.
After 2 close first overs,Buttler exploded. Despite losing his partner Jason Roy in the 4th over, he kept on attacking the Indian Bowlers and using the powerplay to their full advantage. Within the space of 10 overs, England had already eased down the target scoring 81 runs and just losing two wickets.
After D Malan departure, India were given some hope. However Johnny Bairstow and Jos Buttler were in no mood to let the momentum slip away. The duo added a 77 run parternship as England won the game by 8 Wickets in 18.2 overs scoring 158/2 with Buttler remaining not out at 83 runs from 52 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes while Bairstow remained unbeaten at 40 runs from 28 balls with 5 fours to his name,as the gave England a 2-1 lead in these 5 match series.
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