In the 3rd T20I at Rajkot, visitors England beat the Men in Blue in a game that was crucial. There are still two games to be played in Pune and Mumbai, respectively, bringing the series to 2-1.
Even though Philip Salt was removed early in the innings, the England innings had some early promise. Ben Duckett, who scored 51 off 28 deliveries to reach his second half-century in Twenty20 Internationals, forged a crucial partnership with Jos Buttler for the team’s second wicket. With stats of 5/24 in four overs, Varun Chakravarthy took his second five-wicket haul in Twenty20 Internationals, but his magical spell transformed the game. In the end, Duckett’s half-century and Liam Livingstone’s explosive cameo (43 off 24) saw the England innings finish at 171-9.
The Indian innings likewise went badly, with half of their team being dismissed after 12.1 overs at a score of 85. At one point, the Indian side had a massive mountain to climb after 15 overs, needing to score 72 runs off the final 30 balls of the game. At the crease were Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya, two of India’s best all-round players.
The Indian innings was ultimately limited to 145-9 as this proved to be too much for the lower order. With a 26-run victory, England maintained their hopes of winning the series. The Indian hitters were having trouble getting going in the match, but the England bowlers beat them.
Chakravarthy’s sacrifice is in vain.
In what was arguably one of Varun Chakravarthy’s greatest spells, he once again caused trouble for the England batsmen in the middle overs. The 33-year-old mystery spinner continues to elude players like Jos Buttler, Jamie Overton, and Jamie Smith, who might be potent hitters once they get going, making him difficult to select for the England team once more.
Rarely, Chakravarthy was also named the player of the match, a title that often goes to the victorious team’s player. He now has 10 wickets from the three games he has played in the series at an average of 8.50 thanks to this spell.
Check out how the fans reacted to Third India vs England T20I:
Rohit, please take back your retirement from T20Is. This team needs you and your intent 🔥#INDvsENG
— Cricbaaz Harry (@Cricbaazharry) January 28, 2025
So without Dew, Abhishek and Tilak India is, actually a 150 team#INDvsENG
— Ruplekha (@Ruplekha1234) January 28, 2025
A brilliant bowling effort from the entire team!
Adil Rashid was a masterclass, and Overton was brilliant—finally, some good performance from him. The bowling saved us this time, but the batting needs to step up. We’re winning this series! 💙👏🏴#INDvENG | #INDvsENG— Zain (@Zain_Cric) January 28, 2025
India losing the plot today with the bat 😕
Another poor start and the middle order failed to stabilize the inning
Hardik took the game deep but failed to counter punch
Tail end also did not manage to take off#INDvsENG #INDvENG #ENGvIND
— Aditya Singh Rawat (@Catslayer_999) January 28, 2025
Varun chakravarth a bidar boy , the architect to 5 wicket indian cricket player #indvseng
— Saikrishna🏏🎤🖋️ 🌱💂🎬 (@SaiKris75286313) January 28, 2025
In the T20 format ability to rotate the strike is very important on slightly slower wicket. India left it too much for too
late in the end.— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 28, 2025
Not sure what all the fuss was about.. knew we were winning that… 👀 #INDvENG
— Galow (@harrygalow) January 28, 2025
India’s combinations are still extremes. The risks are still high variance with some individuals who haven’t done enough in this format.
Losses like this are good if you learn the right lesson. Let’s see how they respond.#INDvENG
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) January 28, 2025
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