Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone sparkled with the bat earlier than a disciplined bowling efficiency led England to a 26-run win over India within the third T20 to maintain the sequence alive.
Duckett thumped 51 off 28 balls however England’s spin woes resurfaced in Rajkot as Varun Chakravarthy’s 5 for twenty-four noticed the vacationers slip from 83 for one to 127 for eight earlier than they recovered to 171 for 9.
Livingstone was largely accountable after belting 5 sixes in his 43 off 24 deliveries and England have been capable of prohibit India to 145 for 9 and slender the deficit within the five-match sequence to 2-1.
Jamie Overton collected three for 23 and there have been two wickets apiece for Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer, whereas Adil Rashid’s one for 15 – bowling India dangerman Tilak Varma – was excellent.
Match Motion
Whereas England claimed victory after being requested to bat first, they as soon as extra confirmed their Achilles heel once more spin, with Chakravarthy working amok as he claimed 4 wickets for 5 runs in 10 balls at one stage.
There stays query marks over the type of Phil Salt, who registered his fifth single-figure rating in six T20 innings, whereas Harry Brook confirmed a susceptibility in opposition to leg-spin as he under-edged Ravi Bishnoi on to his stumps.
Victory additionally got here at a price with Jamie Smith showing to injure his calf, having initially deputised behind the stumps instead of Salt, permitting the opener to pay attention solely on his batting.
Salt drove to Abhishek Sharma’s midriff to proceed a barren run with eight runs in three innings however Duckett shrugged off a few low scores, settling with a scoop off the recalled Mohammed Shami.
He gathered 5 fours in a row along with his trademark pulls, cuts and a reverse sweep and made it six boundaries in seven balls by bounding down the monitor and hitting Washington Sundar over the ropes.
One mighty heave into the stands off Bishnoi apart, Jos Buttler struggled for fluency and he received a sliver of a backside edge to a reverse-sweep, with India vindicated on assessment, as Chakravarthy ended the England captain’s breezy 76-run stand in 45 balls with Duckett.
Varun Chakravarthy
Whereas Duckett introduced up a 26-ball fifty within the subsequent over, he miscued Axar Patel to deep midwicket earlier than Brook was bowled for the third time in a row, dragging Bishnoi on to his stumps.
Chakravarthy then struck twice in every of his final two overs, with Smith and Carse holing out and Overton and Archer having their timbers rattled.
As Chakravarthy celebrated a fourth wicket in 10 balls, Archer was so bamboozled he appeared to ask Livingstone what had occurred.
Because the final recognised batter, Livingstone went for broke with three sixes in 4 balls off Bishnoi earlier than smearing Hardik Pandya straight to long-on though Rashid and Mark Wooden recorded England’s joint-highest stand for the tenth wicket in T20s to raise them to their largest complete of the sequence.
England’s Bowling
Archer then hurried up Sanju Samson on the pull earlier than taking an impressive steepler of a catch on the transfer to see off Abhishek for twenty-four off 14 balls.
England had their third powerplay wicket when India captain Suryakumar Yadav’s tried flick off Wooden went excessive into the night time sky and Salt, who took the gloves as Smith twanged his calf, safely settled beneath it.
Rashid struck in his first over with lavish flip breaching the defences of Chennai match-winner Varma earlier than the leg-spinner and Overton stymied India, who wanted 72 off the final 30 balls.
With Pandya on the crease, India weren’t out of it and he whipped Wooden and Archer for leg-side sixes however Overton took tempo off when he was reintroduced for his last over and had the all-rounder caught within the deep by Buttler.
Shami, enjoying in his first match for India for the reason that 2023 World Cup last, belted Overton excessive over deep midwicket however he gave Brook stationed at long-on catching observe as India’s problem petered out.
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