After 3 games in this 5-match series, the template remains intact – Win the toss and bowl first to win the game!! Despite losing the second match of the series heavily, visitors England made a brilliant comeback to win the third match and take lead in this series courtesy of their opener Jos Buttler.
After being sent into bat first, India made a poor start with their struggling opener KL Rahul registering his third Duck in as many games this series! Rohit who returned for this game after a 2-game rest too did not make an impact with the bat. Ishan Kishan was prolific with the bat on debut in the 2nd match but he fell for a rash shot. It was all down to Virat Kohli who kept one end tight with wickets falling around him.
Kohli’s unbeaten half-century – 77 runs off 46 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes – carried India to a competitive total of 156/6 in 20 overs. Excluding the 70-run stand between Kohli and Hardik for the sixth wicket, India’s batting in this match looked very pale and never seemed to be like playing in their home conditions. Let’s just hope Indian captain Virat Kohli doesn’t blame the absence of the crowd for their batting debacle! Among England bowlers, Mark Wood bagged 3 wickets while Chris Jordan accounted for 2 wickets.
Chasing a par target, England opener Jos Buttler remained unbeaten on 83* as he carried England to an 8-wicket victory to take lead in the series. Jonny Bairstow provided the much-needed support from the other end as he along with Buttler added 77 runs for the third wicket in this victory. Opener Jason Roy had a rare failure with the bat while David Malan was outsmarted by Washington!
Jos Buttler has been adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-winning knock with the bat. With this 8-wicket victory, England are leading the 5-match series by a margin of 2-1 with 2 more matches to go. The fourth T20I match will be played on Thursday (Mar 18).
Brief Scores: England – 158/2 in 18.2 overs (Jos Buttler – 83*, Jonny Bairstow – 40*, Washington Sundar – 1/26, Yuzvendra Chahal – 1/41) defeated India – 156/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli – 77*, Rishabh Pant – 25, Mark Wood – 3/31, Chris Jordan – 2/35) by a margin of 8 wickets
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