Disciplined bowling and a quickfire 51 by Ben Duckett on Tuesday helped England bounce back to win the third T20 international against India and keep the series alive.
Duckett’s 28-ball knock set up England to make 171-9 despite a collapse triggered by India spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who returned figures of 5-24 in Rajkot.
England’s bowlers then combined to limit India to 145-9, sealing a 26-run win in a five-match series now only led 2-1 by India.
Photo: Reuters
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid impressed with figures of 1-15 from an excellent four-over spell, while England’s fast bowlers struck regularly.
Jamie Overton took three wickets, while Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse claimed two each.
“The guys bowled really well, was nice to show off their skills,” England skipper Jos Buttler said. “Not about how fast they can bowl, but how well they can adapt to the wicket.”
Photo: Reuters
Buttler praised Rashid as the “most important player” in the team.
Hardik Pandya stuttered to 40 off 35 deliveries before being dismissed by Overton when the required run rate climbed to more than 20 an over.
Archer struck first with the wicket of Sanju Samson, who was caught at mid-on by Rashid.
Carse dismissed Abhishek Sharma for 24, with Archer taking a spectacular catch while running backwards from mid-off.
Mark Wood sent back skipper Suryakumar Yadav, with the batter top-edging a quick, rising delivery into the gloves of wicketkeeper Phil Salt.
Wickets kept tumbling as Rashid bowled Tilak Varma and Overton sent back Washington Sundar to reduce India to 85-5, and Pandya never seriously threatened to take India over the line.
Earlier, Duckett’s blazing start and then a 24-ball 43 by Liam Livingstone boosted the total and the lower-order chipped in after England slipped to 127-8 in 16 overs.
“We always learn from a T20 game, conceding 170 from 127 for eight was too much,” Yadav said. “Batting also, we have a few things to learn.”
Duckett put on 76 runs with Buttler, who hit 24, after losing his opening partner Salt.
Chakravarthy broke the stand with Buttler’s wicket, a caught-behind dismissal given after a review.
Duckett, who struck two sixes and seven fours, reached his half-century in 26 balls, but was out in the same over off Axar Patel’s left-arm spin.
England soon lost their way against India’s spinners as Ravi Bishnoi bowled Harry Brook for 8, and Chakravarthy struck twice to send back Jamie Smith and Overton in the next over.
Chakravarthy returned in his final over to take two more and register his second five-wicket haul in T20 internationals.
Livingstone stood defiant and smashed Bishnoi for three sixes in the space of four balls before he holed out off Pandya, but his knock proved key.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who returned to international action for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final, bowled three wicketless overs for 25 runs.
The fourth match is tomorrow in Pune.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
The CTBC Brothers from Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) on Friday announced they reached an agreement with the team’s shortstop Chiang Kun-yu (江坤宇) to extend his contract by 10 years in a deal that could worth up to NT $147.88 million (US$4.5 million). Including a NT$10 million incentive bonus, the 24-year- old’s new contract stipulates that his monthly salary will be NT$660,000 starting this year, increasing to NT$1.2 million from the fifth year of the deal. Chiang’s new agreement also comes with a caveat in the form of a “player option” where he would have the choice to become a free
RSS