“He is a real match-winner for us” - Jos Buttler on Mark Wood

Jos Buttler hailed fast bowler Mark Wood for his fantastic bowling performance in the third T20I against India, describing him as a real match-winner.

Jos Buttler and Wood were the two star performers for England on Tuesday as they won the third T20I by eight wickets. While the wicketkeeper-batsman was unbeaten on 83 from 52, Wood claimed 3 for 31 with the ball.

Speaking at the post-match media conference after the comprehensive win, Jos Buttler admitted that Wood’s wicket-taking spell early in the innings went a long way in setting up the game in England’s favor. He said:

“Mark Wood’s performance had a huge impact on the game. He bowled fantastically well and set the game up for us. Every time he gets the ball in hand, whether it’s a Test match or T20I or 50 overs, he looks in fantastic rhythm. He is a real match-winner for us. He is bowling extremely quickly. So he’s a huge asset to the side. Put him together with Jofra (Archer), and the pace at which those two bowl is quite intimidating. To take early wickets is a huge benefit in T20 cricket and those early dismissals set India back.”

Wood cleaned up Indian opener KL Rahul for a duck and then got rid of Rohit Sharma (15) with a short ball. He returned later to dismiss Shreyas Iyer (9) with another shorter one.

Despite Virat Kohli’s brilliant knock of 77 not out from 46 balls, India were held to 156 for 6.

☝️ KL Rahul☝️ Rohit SharmaIndia have lost their openers early off Mark Wood!#INDvENG | https://t.co/ijRJxPRtsz pic.twitter.com/iFe8XE27ET

— ICC (@ICC) March 16, 2021

There was more bounce in this wicket: Jos Buttler

Crediting the overall bowling performance, Jos Buttler admitted that the wicket had a lot more bounce, perhaps because of the different soil that was used. He stated:

“Things weren’t straightforward. It was quite a different wicket to the ones we had earlier. Different soil, so obviously there was more bounce in this wicket. Lot of credit has to go to the bowlers. We bowled first and to take three wickets in the powerplay was fantastic. It really sets the game up for you.”

Speaking about his own batting performance, the wicketkeeper-batsman said at the post-match press conference that it was nice to spend time in the middle.

“I always like to be not out at the end. It was nice to chance my arm a bit. The first six off got me up and running and gave me confidence,” he further said.

Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow shared an unbeaten 77-run stand to guide England to victory in the third #INDvENG T20I.Report 👇

— ICC (@ICC) March 16, 2021

After the comprehensive eight-wicket win, England are now 2-1 up in the five-match series.