IND vs ENG: 3rd T20I – Jos Buttler outshines Virat Kohli’s magical knock as England go 2-1 up
Win the toss. Opt to bowl first. Chase the score down. This seems to be the mantra in the ongoing T20I series between India and England. The visitors successfully chased down 157 runs thanks to a special knock from Jos Buttler who made sure his team was never behind in the chase. Earlier, it was Virat Kohli’s mesmerising 77* that helped India post a competitive total of 156 runs on the board despite being 24/3 at one stage. Here are some of the talking points.
1. KL Rahul’s poor form continues
KL Rahul’s last 4 T20I innings
0 (2) vs AUS
1 (4) vs ENG
0 (6) vs ENG
0 (4) vs ENGThis is the first time in his career that he has recorded 4 consecutive single-digit scores. #INDvENG
— Omkar Mankame (@Oam_16) March 16, 2021
India backed KL Rahul to come good after two poor outings and benched Suryakumar Yadav. But the former bagged yet another duck as Mark Wood bowled one pacy back of a length delivery which jagged back in sharply to castle the batsman. 1, 0, 0 are Rahul’s score this series and his poor run of form must be worrying for India ahead of the T20 World Cup.
2. Pant run-out
Rishabh Pant has got starts in this series and has failed to convert those. And it continued even in this game. Having come in to bat at 24/3, Pant did well to stitch a 40-run stand with his skipper Virat Kohli. But a misjudged third run by both the players led to the former’s dismissal at a crucial juncture. It was a poor call by Kohli and also a lack of game awareness from Pant who ran too far while completing the second run and India were again jagged back just when they were gaining momentum.
3. Kohli scores 77*
This is what Virat Kohli does to you ? pic.twitter.com/Uj8FBNw8Dj
— Gaurav Chavan (@ChavanGaurav18) March 16, 2021
Virat Kohli came in early yet again to bat thanks to India’s openers who got out early. But the Indian skipper looked in great touch right from the word go as he unfurled a beautiful cover drive first up. Although wickets fell at the other end, Kohli made sure he held one end and then launched an assault in the death overs. Even though Hardik Pandy struggled, it was Kohli who literally took the attack to the opposition bowlers making sure India ended with a competitive total. Kohli smashed 77* off 46 balls with 8 fours and four sixes.
4. Buttler’s exceptional knock
England started slowly and had scored only 16 runs in three overs. But Jos Buttler soon pounced on India’s premier spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and this is when runs began to flow. He took calculated risks and was dismissive in his approach every time he attacked the bowlers. Once he got off to a brilliant start, Buttler slowed down a bit making sure he won the game for his side and remained unbeaten on 83 off 52 balls as England reached home with 8 wickets in hand.
