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Win toss, bowl first, win game! That seems to be pattern in the India-England T20I series, as Jos Buttler (83* off 52) powered the visitors to an eight-wicket triumph in the third T20I in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Earlier, Virat Kohli's unbeaten 77 off 46 had guided India to 156 for 6. But that was not going to be enough, as Jos Buttler clobbered five fours and four sixes to lift England to an emphatic win. With the victory, England take a 2-1 series lead in the five-match series.
England were jolted early in their run chase. In-form Jason Roy picked a couple of boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, moving around the crease and unsettling the medium pacer. However, he perished for nine when reverse-sweeping Yuzvendra Chahal straight to Rohit Sharma at point.
It was a strange over from Chahal, as Jos Buttler had launched him for sixes over mid-on either side of the wicket.
Nevertheless, Jos Buttler continued to punish India, blasting Shardul Thakur for two fours and a six in his second over, the first down leg and guided fine, and the next was a slower short ball pulled to the long-leg boundary. Jos Buttler finished the over by clobbering another slower short ball over the square-leg boundary for a maximum.
Jos Buttler brought up England’s fifty by reverse-sweeping Chahal to the cover boundary. He ended the powerplay in style, pulling a short one from India’s highest T20I wicket-taker between long-leg and deep midwicket for another four. England raced away to 57 for 1 in six overs, with Jos Buttler contributing 43 off 17.
The England wicketkeeper-batsman eased to his fifty off 26 balls, pulling Hardik Pandya to deep square-leg for a single. Dawid Malan celebrated Jos Buttler’s milestone by top-edging the next ball over the keeper’s head for a maximum.
Washington Sundar gave India some hope by having Malan (18) stumped with a faster one, when the batsman danced down the pitch a tad early. Kohli dropped Jos Buttler on 76, at point off Chahal. But by that time, the match had slipped out of India’s grasp.
Chahal also dropped a skier off Jonny Bairstow (40* from 28), running in from third man, to sum up his and India’s day. Bairstow hit the winning runs for England with consecutive fours off Shardul Thakur as Jos Buttler remained unbeaten on a career-best T20I score of 83.
Virat Kohli lifts India before a Jos Buttler masterclass sinks the hosts
A sensational display of big-hitting from Indian captain Virat Kohli lifted India to 156 for 6 after they were sent into bat by England in the third T20I.
Although the end total wasn’t a big one, things could have been much worse for the hosts, but for Kohli’s brilliant knock. India were labouring along at 87 for 5 after 15 overs when Kohli decided to take matters into his own hands.
He made his intentions clear by lofting Jofra Archer over the in-field for a boundary and followed that up by top-edging the fast bowler over the keeper’s head for a maximum.
Chris Jordan followed Kohli with a short ball as the batsman backed away. However, the Indian captain was able to launch the ball over deep square-leg for another six. The last ball of the over was a slower one. Kohli picked that early and swatted it between deep midwicket and wide long-on to bring up his fifty off 37 balls.
Mark Wood, who had been England’s best bowler until then, wasn’t spared either. He hit the fast bowler for consecutive sixes - one smashed over midwicket and the other lofted over mid-off. The next ball was short, but Kohli found a four to the right of deep third-man.
The Indian captain slammed 49 runs off the last 17 balls he faced as India ended their innings on a high.
Hardik Pandya (17 off 15) struggled at the other end, but he managed to hit a couple of sixes. He was out mistiming a slog off Jordan off the last ball of the innings. Kohli’s domination could be gauged from the fact that Pandya contributed only 17 in a sixth-wicket stand of 70.
India’s start was in stark contrast to how they finished. KL Rahul’s horror run continued as he was bowled through the gate by Mark Wood for a duck. Comeback man Rohit Sharma (15) and the hero of the last match, Ishan Kishan (4), perished to Wood and Jordan respectively, trying to take on the short ball but perishing in the process.
Rishabh Pant (25 off 20) looked good again, tonking leg-spinner Adil Rashid for a couple of boundaries. However, he was run out in a bizarre fashion. The left-hander risked a third off a misfield. But he had run well past the stumps after completing the second, which meant he was always going to struggle completing the third despite a despairing dive.
Shreyas Iyer (9) also perished to the short ball, looking to clear deep third-man. At 86 for 5, India were in massive trouble. What followed next was a Virat Kohli masterclass, but that wasn’t enough on the night, as Jos Buttler outshone the Indian captain.
