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Welcome back to our live blog covering England’s white ball tour of India! We find ourselves in Rajkot today today for the third T20i, with looking to wrap up the series with a win today. With consecutive wins, the Indian side, especially the spin quartet has proved too difficult for the visitors to handle. Tilak Varma and Abhishek have proved to be stars for the home side with the bat.
England have begun with a new era with Brendon McCullum as their new white ball coach. But things have not got to a great start as they have struggled with their batting in both the matches. They will need to win today to stay fighting in this series.
The news from Rajkot is that India have won the toss and have chosen to bowl first. Mohammed Shami returns to international cricket after his injury hiatus, replacing Arshdeep Singh and otherwise its an unchanged line up from India. England choose to stick with the same eleven with Jamie Smith retaining his spot within the team.
England pull one back. Their controlled agression reaping rewards in this game. They get the bowling changes and line and length accurate. Duckett, Livingstone were the pick of the batters and their respective innings played a instrumental role in pushing England to a good total.
Adil Rashid with his four overs dismantled the opposition completely. He was supported by Archer well and all round it was a complete performance by the visitors.
The Indian team will need to think about their approach in the upcoming games. No need to panic yet but some food for thought. The batting will need to be proactive at times instead of settling down. With this win, the series is set up nicely, as it moves to Pune and then Mumbai. Join us next time for the 4th T20i and another round of some entertaining cricket.
Jurel tries to be inventive but fails to get the elevation with the attempted lamp shot. The ball finds Salt’s gloves and India are now nine down.
Overton has been excellent in this match and he gets another reward as he gets Shami’s wicket to put the result of the match to bed. India need 32 off 6 deliveries.
India’s last beacon of hope Pandya falls! Excellent from Overton. Pandya fails to get underneath the full delivery and finds Butler at long on. That should be the final nail in the coffin.
India are 131/7
Archer gets Axar! The batter could not make the most of the full toss and looks to slice it away. Instead the ball flies to Rashid on the 45 and India lose their 6th wicket. Jurel is the next man in.
India are 123/6.
14 off the 17th over, which will ease a few worries but the equation now stands at 50 off 18 which seems very steep now.
India are 123/5
India finally reach 100 runs at the end of the 15th. England have constricted them in the middle overs, where they boss the game usually. India require 72 off 30 deliveries.
Rashid finishes his magnificent spell, finishing with 1-15 off his 4 overs. India are now 90/5 but and now the pressure is just rising. This innings is not going anywhere.
Sundar tries to go over the top against Overton but fails to do so as he finds the skipper Butler underneath it. India now 85/5 and are now facing an uphill battle. Just 23 runs off the last 5 overs. Sundar never got running, scoring just 6 off 15 deliveries.
India now 85/5.
Another economical over from England. Just the 4 runs conceded by Overton off his first. The required run rate has climbed up to 10 now. Sundar and Pandya seem to be taking this game deep.
India are 82/4
Rashid is spinning a web against the Indian batters, especially the left handed Washington Sundar. With just 8 conceded of his 2 overs, he will look to gather some more wickets.
India are 78/4 after 10.
Only 4 runs off that Carse over and rightly so as Pandya stays firm absorbing the pressure. England will look to pile on the pressure on the hosts.
What a delivery by Rashid! Certainly the ball of the series. Varma gets bamboozled by the drift and spin off the deck and gets castled. India in deep trouble now. Where do we go from here? Great bowling from Rashid.
68/4 India
Wood closes the curtains on the powerplay and it is advantage England. With the three wickets, and with only 51 runs conceded, they might think they have a chance to keep this series alive.
51/3 for India
Wood’s express pace does the trick for England. SKY top edges one very high and Salt sprints to cover the ground and catches the ball. The skipper’s disappointing series form has no end. India in bit of a pickle now. Pandya next in.
49/3 India
SKY gets his innings going with a maximum courtesy of his trademark shot and then follows that up a great cut shot for 4. Great shot making on display here.
48/2 India.
A flaying drive from Tilak! A shot of man in form, a great way to open the account. Much needed boundary for India, that gets them 12 off Carse’s over.
35/2 India.
Just the wicket England wanted! Sharma steps out to Carse but the ball finds the toe end of the bat and hangs in the air for a long time. That allows Archer to cover some ground to complete the catch rather acrobatically. Tilak Varma is the next batter in.
India are 31/2
Excellent timing by Sharma. Just plods at a full toss from Sharma and that races for a four!
What a shot from Sharma! Stand and deliver. Picks up a good length delivery and dispatches over extra cover for four. That should get him rolling.
India are 23/1
Samson’s troubles continue. A similar dismissal for him as he tries to muscle a short delivery by Archer but fails to connect properly. The ball flies up to Rashid at mid on. First down for India and in comes the skipper SKY.
First boundary off Sharma’s bat for India. A familiar shot where he goes after the wide deliveries. Not the best connection but the ball travels to the boundary.
A quiet over to start India’s innings with Samson and Sharma opening. Just three runs off Archer’s first. Tight line and length should go a long way. Mark Wood to open from the other end.
Pandya keeps the runs in check in the final over and completes a job well done by the Indian bowlers again. Absolute wizardry on display by Chakravarthy, who becomes the first bowler to scalp ten wickets in a bilateral T20i series between India and England. England capitulate in the second half of the innings as usual, and even a fleeting innings from Livingstone could not power them to a big total. Duckett was the star of the England batter with a well made 51.
India were on top for most of the innings and they look unstoppable at the moment. The Indian batters will be out in a short while to chase down a target of 172 in 120 deliveries. The form that Sharma and co are in right now, it might be a short match after all.
Subtle from Rashid! Just a touch to Shami’s delivery and guides it to third man for a boundary.
England 156/9
What an exciting series this has been so far! India’s spin attack has been absolutely phenomenal, and Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma have really stepped up to lead the charge with the bat. It’s great to see Shami back in action, adding experience to the bowling unit. England has a tough task ahead, but with Brendon McCullum at the helm, anything is possible.
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