3rd T20I: Prince, Harshit claim two each as Salt's fifty helps England post 201/7
Nottingham, July 8
Prince Yadav and Harshit Rana claimed two wickets each, but England rode on a 44-ball 70 by opener Phil Salt and some late hitting by Sam Curran to post a challenging 201/7 in 20 overs in the crucial third T20I of the five-match series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Yadav, who was brought in place of Ravi Bishnoi for his first match against England, claimed his first two international wickets in claiming 2-30 while Rana bagged two in two balls in the middle overs for 2-40 as India fought back after Salt and Jos Buttler (38) had given the hosts a slow but good start in what is a must-win match for the visitors who have lost the second match in Manchester after the first game was abandoned without a result because of heavy rains.
They reached 49/1 in the Power-play with Buttler back in the den after being castled by him with a yorker, which deflected off the batter's toes onto the leg stump, for his first wicket,
The pacer from Uttar Pradesh then got England captain Harry Brook, getting him to offer a catch to Abhishek Sharma for 16 off 12 balls. Rana then got into the act, taking the wickets of dangerman Jacob Bethell (13) and Tom Banton off successive balls as England slipped to 111/4 at the 12th end of the 12th over.
Salt, who had kept going from the other end, raised 47 runs for the fifth wicket with Curran, going on to reach his fifty in 36 balls, hitting six boundaries and one six. He was eventually out for 70 off 44 balls, caught by Arshdeep Singh off Axar Patel. He slammed seven fours and three sixes, claiming 18 runs in one over before Axar had the last laugh.
Curran then took over the mantle of scoring quick runs for England, hammering four fours in his 24-ball 41 not out. Will Jacks struck a couple of sixes in his 14 off seven balls to help propel England past 200.
This is the first time that India will be chasing 200 against England in a T20I, as they need to win the match to prevent the hosts from taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with two matches remaining.
Brief scores:
England 201/7 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 70, Sam Curran 41*, Jos Buttler 36; Prince Yadav 2-30, Harshit Rana 2-40) against India
— IANS
Reader Comments
Honestly, I'm a bit worried. 201 is a massive score. Even though Prince and Harshit bowled well, the rest of the bowling attack looked a bit expensive. And our batting hasn't been clicking consistently. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed. India has done it before, and I believe they can do it again. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳
Good to see Prince Yadav getting a chance. But why did we drop Ravi Bishnoi? He was our best spinner in the first two matches. And the fielding needs to be sharper. That dropped catch by Arshdeep could have cost us more. Anyway, let's see how the chase goes. Fully supporting the team! 💪
Phil Salt played a brilliant knock! 70 off 43 balls is world-class batting. But I think we let them off the hook after Harshit's double-strike. Sam Curran's late hitting took the game away from us. Still, I'm optimistic about our batting line-up. If Rohit and Kohli (if he plays) can get us off to a flyer, we have a chance. Fingers crossed! 🤞
Why is the team management persisting with Arshdeep Singh? His bowling has been expensive in the death overs. And our middle-order batting looks fragile. But Prince Yadav's performance gives me hope. He bowled with good pace and accuracy. Let's hope our batsmen show some fight. Come on India! 🇮🇳🔥
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