India’s batting performance did not go well with Virat Kohli’s superb batting as England beat the hosts by eight wickets in the third T20 International to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Eoin Morgan dismissed his fast bowlers Mark Wood (3/31) and Chris Jordan (2/35) to restrict the hosts to 156 for 6, which was easily overcome by the spectators in 18.2 overs, Jose. Butler scored an unbeaten 83 off 83 balls. Captain Kohli had mistakenly stated in the toss that his team led 2–1, but Morgan, in his 100th T20 International performance, ensured that the opposite happened.
Butler showed his mastery in the white ball format after Kohli single-handedly unbeaten 77 off 46 balls.
In the powerplay, Butler lbw Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal in successive overs and England were never in danger of falling behind the run-rate after that.
He played pesers and spinners comfortably, playing inverted slog sweeps between empty standing hits.
Overall, Butler hit five fours and four sixes. More than Butler’s blade, the sharp pace generated by England’s pacers was the difference between the two sides after Morgan won another good toss.
Mark Wood shook the Indian top order during the powerplay overs and even Kohli’s grandeur was not enough to save the night for ‘Men in Blue’.
At a speed of 90 plus mph, Wood’s thunderbolt found the young Indian batsmen quite uncomfortable. He did nothing extra, but bowled fast and straight, mixing things with well-disguised short pitches and making them confused.
To save Kohli, the other Indian youngsters found it difficult to bat as fast pace and bounced off the pitch worked wonders for English pace traders.
With the right technique he had, the Indian captain opened fire with fire, playing pull shots and smashed hits, shuffling towards the leg stump to make room for himself.
He was lucky when his mis-timed flick on a short ball from Jofra Archer hit him for six, but then Chris Jordan’s second flick was sent to the longest corner for a complete maximum.
But the night shot was a direct six from Wood, allowing the bowler to take his time to finish the over.
Not forgetting the shape he was in when Archer carried out the ramp shot.
Their partnership of Hardik Pandya (17 off 15 balls) made 70 runs in just 5.3 overs, but it was a better part for Kohli as Baroda’s allrounder struggled with the ball.
But the others were not so lucky with the wood that made life miserable for them. KL Rahul (0) was once again in the middle of a forgetful patch where all good deliveries were being made for him.
Wood bowled a ball at a speed of 91 mph, which lasted long enough and went back enough to defend the opener to bring his bat down.
Rohit Sharma (15 off 17 balls) was playing his first game of the series and when he managed to read Adil Rashid’s googly well, Wood’s well-directed bouncer got him as he was out in the deep. They went.
Promoted
Ishaan Kishan (4), after the start of a dream, received a hostile reception from Wood, who managed to soften the dasher of Jharkhand.
The result was that Chris Jordan was taking out the extra bounce and the host team looked completely disappointed.
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