India vs England 2021: India take the T20I series 3-2 thanks to batting brilliance
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India celebrate a wicket in the fifth T20I
England almost did the unthinkable by chasing down a huge target of 225 set by India in the fifth and final T20I in Ahmedabad but were ultimately tamed by the hosts. It was a stunning partnership from Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan that set them on course for what could have been a stunning run-chase. Having lost the test series 3-1, England have now lost the T20I series as well but not after a superb fight.
Earlier, India were put in to bat first and the hosts dropped the out of form KL Rahul to bring in an extra bowler in the form of T Natarajan. Opening with captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma, India made merry and took on the English bowlers right from the word go to get to a superb score of 60/0 in the Powerplay. Rohit went on and got to a quick-fire half-century before he was dismissed by Ben Stokes.
Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler knocks in vain
Virat Kohli then joined hands with Suryakumar Yadav and the two looked threatening in the middle before the latter was dismissed thanks to a stunning bit of fielding at the fence by Chris Jordan. Kohli then continued with Hardik Pandya and the two pummeled the English bowlers to take India past 200 and ended on 224. Kohli finished on 80 not out.
In the chase, England lost Jason Roy early but once Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler got going, there was no looking back as they went all guns blazing at the Indian bowlers who looked clueless. Both batsmen got to their half-centuries to put their side on the cusp of a famous win. However, an inspired bowling change to bring in Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought the end of Jos Buttler before Shardul Thakur struck twice in an over to remove Jonny Bairstow and Malan. The chase then derailed and England were restricted to 188/8 in their 20 overs.
The ODI series begins on the 23rd of March in Pune.
Scores
India Innings
| Batsman | Mode of Dismissal | Runs | Balls |
| Rohit Sharma | b Stokes | 64 | 34 |
| Virat Kohli | not out | 80 | 52 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | c Roy b Rashid | 32 | 17 |
| Hardik Pandya | not out | 39 | 17 |
Total – 224/2 in 20 overs
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets |
| Adil Rashid | 4 | 31 | 1 |
| Jofra Archer | 4 | 43 | 0 |
| Mark Wood | 4 | 53 | 0 |
| Chris Jordan | 4 | 57 | 0 |
| Sam Curran | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Ben Stokes | 3 | 26 | 1 |
England Innings
| Batsman | Mode of Dismissal | Runs | Balls |
| Jason Roy | b Bhuvneshwar | 0 | 2 |
| Jos Buttler | c Pandya b Bhuvneshwar | 52 | 34 |
| Dawid Malan | b Thakur | 68 | 46 |
| Jonny Bairstow | c Yadav b Thakur | 7 | 7 |
| Eoin Morgan | c (sub) Rahul b Pandya | 1 | 4 |
| Ben Stokes | c Pant b Natarajan | 14 | 12 |
| Chris Jordan | c Yadav b Thakur | 11 | 10 |
| Jofra Archer | run out (Yadav/Pant) | 1 | 2 |
| Sam Curran | not out | 14 | 3 |
| Adil Rashid | not out | 0 | 0 |
Total – 188/8 in 20 overs
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 4 | 15 | 2 |
| Hardik Pandya | 4 | 34 | 1 |
| Washington Sundar | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| Shardul Thakur | 4 | 45 | 3 |
| T Natarajan | 4 | 39 | 1 |
| Rahul Chahar | 3 | 33 | 0 |
Also Read: India vs England 2021: WATCH – Chris Jordan and Jason Roy combine to produce a stunning relay catch
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Nevin Clinton
(2399 Articles Published)