An unbeaten 125 from Rishabh Pant and a fine all-around show from Hardik Pandya helped India register a five-wicket win in the third ODI against England, and seal the three-match series 2-1.
Chasing 260, Pant hit 16 fours and two sixes from 113 balls while Hardik provided him good support with a quick-fire 71 off 55 balls to take India home, with 47 balls to spare.
Earlier, Hardik Pandya had picked up four wickets (4/27) to help restrict England to 259 runs in 45.5 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal too impressed with the ball with figures of 3/60 of 9.5 overs. After being sent to bat, England rode on skipper Buttler’s crucial 60 off 80 balls while opener Roy scored 41 (31 balls) to take England to a respectable total.
Hardik Picks Four to Restrict England to 259
In what turned out to be the series-decider, Rohit Sharma once again won the toss and elected to bowl first. After an expensive first over from Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj gave India the first breakthrough by getting rid of Jonny Bairstow for a duck on the third ball of the second over. The England opener mistimed a shot which edged and flew straight to a waiting Shreyas Iyer at mid-off.
Siraj, who replaced an injured Jasprit Bumrah for the match, then dismissed Joe Root (0) three balls later to give India the perfect start. England’s No 3 batter nicked a ball that landed outside off into the hands of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma at second slip as the hosts reduced to 38/2 in two overs.
Despite a few early setbacks, England did not sit back and relax, as Jason Roy and Ben Stokes took on the attacking approach against the Indian bowlers. The duo added another 54 runs to England’s total before Roy departed for 41 runs (31 balls) on the last ball of the first powerplay.
Roy, who was just nine runs short of his fifty edged a length ball from Hardik Pandya while trying to flick it off his hips, only to find wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant completing a catch behind.
With the score 66/3 after 10 overs, the pressure seemed to be building on the hosts as they lost Stokes (27 runs off 29 balls) four overs later off Hardik’s bowling. The Indian all-rounder sent the dangerous Stokes packing by sprinting forward to complete a catch on his follow through.
Meanwhile, Mooen Ali reached 2000 ODI runs in style by dislodging Siraj’s ball over the fence for a six in the 23rd over. In the process, Ali also completed a 50-run fifth-wicket partnership alongside captain Jos Buttler to take England’s total to 125/4.
From then on, both the batters started to ooze confidence, sharing 75 runs between them as England rushed to 149/4 in 27 overs. However, Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership next over by getting rid of Ali (34 runs off 44 balls), who got caught down the leg side by keeper Pant while trying to sweep.
Buttler, on the other hand, played calmly, reaching his fifty off 65 deliveries in the 32nd over, keeping England in the game with Liam Livingstone at the other end.
Livingstone’s promising innings of 27 off 31 balls finally came to an end when he got caught at deep backward square leg by Ravindra Jadeja off Hardik’s bowling.
Both Livingstone and Hardik were at each other's throat during the latter’s earlier over and it was the Indian all-rounder who had the last laugh by deceiving the England batter with a short ball.
Hardik’s short ball ploy worked once again as he picked his fourth wicket of the day and the second of the same over as Buttler got caught on 60 off 80 balls following a top athletic effort by Jadeja at deep midwicket.
Buttler’s dismissal saw England lose their seventh wicket, and reach one run short of 200 after the end of 37 overs.
Tailenders David Willey and Craig Overton then steered the England innings with a crucial 48-run partnership between them, but Yuzvendra Chahal gave India the much-needed breakthrough in the 44th over.
The wily leg-spinner lured Willey (18 runs off 15 balls) with a tempting outside off which the Englishman failed to connect properly and landed straight into the hands of Suryakumar Yadav at long off.
Chahal, meanwhile finished off on a high, dismissing Overton (32 runs of 33 balls) and Reece Topley for a duck in his final over of the match to skittle out the hosts for 259 runs in 45.5 overs.
Rishabh, Hardik Shine in India's Chase
England’s Reece Topley was once again on top of the Indian batters, dismissing openers Shikhar Dhawan (1 run off 3 balls)), Rohit Sharma (17 off 17 balls), and star batter Virat Kohli (17 off 22 balls) to restrict India to 42/3 in 9 overs.
The left-arm seamer was in fact the architect of England’s 100-run win in the second ODI at Lord’s after taking six wickets to help the hosts level the three-match series 1-1.
Following a poor start, India found some hope in Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant who added another 34 runs to India’s total. However, Suryakumar departed soon after, nicking one to keeper Jos Buttler off Craig Overton's delivery as India were reduced to 79/4 after 17 overs.
With India in dire need of a crucial partnership, Rishabh Pant and new batter Hardik Pandya steered the Indian innings forward, playing sensible shots and rotating the strike, taking the visitors total to 148/4 after 29 overs.
Hardik, who had earlier impressed with the ball, cruised to a fine fighting fifty off 43 balls in the next over from Liam Livingstone. Rishabh followed suit, reaching his half-century off 71 balls by hitting Stokes over long-off for four in the 31st over.
With 77 required off 96 balls and six wickets in hand, India finally looked in a commanding position, thanks to the 100-run stand between Pant and Hardik, who batted with purpose.
After hitting Brydon Carse for two successive fours and taking India past the 200-mark, Hardik departed for 71 off 55 balls following a brilliant catch at midwicket by Ben Stokes in the 36th over. The Indian all-rounder hit 10 fours at a strike rate of 129.09 during his stay in the crease.
Rishabh, who had played the anchor role until then started the onslaught and took India’s total to a comfortable 231/5 in 40 overs. The young batter soon raced to his first ODI century off 106 deliveries in the very next over from Overton.
It was a one-way traffic from then on as Pant made a mockery of David Willey, smashing five consecutive fours of the England bowler’s over, with just four more required to win.
There was no stopping Pant as he hit a four of Joe Root’s first ball in the 43rd over to help India win by five wickets and win the series 2-1.
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