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Quickfire outings with the bat from Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone coupled with all-round excellence from the bowlers would help England seal the win and stay alive in the five-match series.
England’s bowlers helped the visitors seal a comfortable 26-run win in the 3rd T20I against India (AP)
A sensational bowling display from England would overshadow a fabulous fifer from Varun Chakravarthy as the visitors sealed a 26-run win over the hosts in the 3rd T20I in Rajkot on Tuesday.
Chakravarthy would put up sensational figures of 5/24 from 4 overs. But, it would only go in vain as the Indian batting order collapsed in the chase that ensued.
India started by winning the toss for the third time this series, and electing to bowl first.
With Shami, who last played for India in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, back in action, back in action for the Men in Blue in place of Arshdeep Singh, skipper Suryakumar Yadav handed over the new ball to the ace.
Shami though fail to impress throughout the match, putting up a subpar spell of 0/25 in the 3 overs he would bowl.
Who would strike instantly for India though was Hardik Pandya, as the all-rounder got the better of Phil Salt, to dismiss him early.
But, the duo of Ben Duckett and Jos Buttler would eradicate all doubts of a collapse, wreaking havoc over Indian bowlers at will.
Duckett, in particular, would be in cracking form, notching his fifty in quick time, taking just 26 balls, only to ultimately be dismissed by Axar Patel soon after.
Varun Chakravarty came to India’s rescue once again, dismissing Buttler first before he scalped Jamie Smith and Overton in back-to-back deliveries later on as ENG fell from 87/3 to an abysmal 116/6.
But, the wily spinner went on to pile on the misery more, notching a sensational fifer and ending his spell with figures of 5/24 as he sucked the life out of the visitors.
Eight wickets down, ENG’s Liam Livingstone finally let loose, clobbering at will, to try and power his team to a strong total.
Livingstone would help the visitors find some footing, whipping up a quickire 43 off 24 balls, before Pandya removed him to corner England to submission.
A hobbled England would drag themselves to 171 runs, thanks to some quick running from Adil Rashid and Mark Wood, setting India a target of 172 runs.
India were expected to come out guns blazing, a start they would achieve only for a brief period, as the England bowlers tok their turn terrorizing with the ball in hand.
The pace trio of Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse would all pick away at the top order of the Indians, whittling the hosts to a dismal 48/3 within the powerplay.
A spark of hope arrived in the form of previous match-winner Tilak Varma, who looked in fine touch yet again. But a menacing Rashid was introduced to the attack, to castle the left-hander pushing India to a hobbled 68/4 in 8 overs.
After losing Sundar to Overton shortly after, the duo of Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel would put up a stand in an effort to spark a comeback.
But, there would be no mercy shown by the English bowlers, especially from the likes of Rashid who bowled a wicket-less yet constricting spell of 4 overs, giving away just 15 runs.
India would ultimately fail to secure success, as Pandya’s almost-heroic innings of 40 runs would come to an end in the 19th over.
In a manner of adding insult to injury, England went on to almost bowl the Indians out in the final over with Carse, Overton and Archer all ended their nights with two wickets each, as England snatched a 26-run win against the hosts to stay alive in the five-match series.
India still leads the series 2-1, with the fourth T20I set to be played in Pune on Friday.
