Rajkot : England defeated India by 26 runs at Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot, in 3rd T20I and recorded first victory of the series, making it 2-1.
Batting first, despite losing Phil Salt (5) early, England took an aggressive approach with Ben Duckett (51) & skipper Jos Buttler (24) smashing Indian bowlers, and took the score to 83 in 9 overs with 76 runs partnership.
However, as soon as Buttler and Duckett’s wickets fell, things began to turn in India’s favour, as Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy picked 5/24, rattling English middle order.
Liam Livingstone’s (43) aggressive knock along with vital tail end 24 runs partnership for 10th wicket, between Adil Rashid (10*) & Mark Wood (10*) put England’s score to 171-9 (20).
Chasing 172 on tricky Pitch, India lost their top 4 (Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Surya Kumar Yadav, Tilak Varma) for 68 runs before 10 overs.
Hardik Pandya (40) began anchoring the innings along with Axar Patel (15) and Washington Sundar (6), but the boundary flow stopped drastically.
Despite Pandya’s efforts in the end, he was dismissed in the 19th over to Jamie Overton (3/24) and England eventually grabbed the Match by 26 runs.
Varun Chakaravarthy was adjourned man of the match for his heroic spell.
Both teams will face off each other for 4th T20I at Pune on January 31, 2025.
Brief Scorecard :
1st Innings :
ENG : 171-9 (20)
Ben Duckett : 51(28)
IND :
Varun Chakaravarthy : 5/24
2nd Innings :
IND : 145-9 (20)
Hardik Pandya : 40(35)
ENG :
Jamie Overton : 3/24
Result : England win by 26 Runs.
