England opener hammers unbeaten 52-ball 83 as visitors win 3rd T20I by 8 wickets; Kohli’s 46-ball 77 not out in vain as England go 2-1 up in series
England opener Jos Buttler slams one during his unbeaten 52-ball 83 against India in the third T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera yesterday. Pics/BCCI
England opener Jos Buttler was at his aggressive best, hammering an unbeaten 83 off just 52 balls (5x4, 4x6) as the visitors comfortably chased down India’s 156-6 with eight wickets and 10 balls to spare. Buttler had Jonny Bairstow (40 not out off 28 balls) for company at the other end as England took a 2-1 lead in the five match series at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday.
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Earlier, after being put in to bat, Virat Kohli (77, 46 balls, 8x4, 4x6) and Rishabh Pant (25, 20 balls, 3x4) attempted to steer the ship to safety with a 40-run (off 35 balls) partnership after the top three batsmen fell for 24 inside the powerplay. However, a suicidal third run attempt in the 12th over ended their effort. Buttler was quick to recover after a misfield for Sam Curran to catch Pant way short of his crease at the other end.
India captain Virat Kohli during his 46-ball 77 not out
Running between the wickets with Kohli is always risky if you are not alert enough to respond to his calls for quick turnarounds. In Pant’s run out, the third run against a slight misfield was unwarranted, especially when Pant had to turn around from behind the wickets and cover a longer distance to make it at the other end.
When India were looking down the barrel, Kohli’s 70-run sixth wicket partnership with Hardik Pandya gave their total some respectability. The Indian skipper constantly moved in the crease, more horizontally, to throw the English fast bowlers out of rhythm. His off side six off an overpitched Mark Wood delivery bowled at 151.9kph was easily the shot of his well-paced innings.
Kohli played a gem of an innings but his choice of the XI for this match left much to be desired. Unfortunately, Mumbai Indians star Suryakumar Yadav had to warm the bench without getting a hit in his international debut last Sunday. Surya had to make room for his Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma as KL Rahul was retained despite his failures in first two matches. Rahul lasted only four balls for his second successive duck as Wood beat him with a 146 kph scorcher. The English pacer was consistently clocking close to 150kph to once again trouble the Indian batsmen. Rohit and Ishan Kishan were bounced out in the space of four balls. Wood cramped Rohit as he tried to pull a rising ball only to see Jofra Archer take a tumbling catch at fine leg.
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