Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, England, England v India, India
Jos Buttler [Image-BCCI]

Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 52-ball 83 and some pretty poor bowling and equally shambolic batting sans Virat Kohli has helped England beat India by eight wickets in the third T20I to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Defending 157, Team India fast bowlers-Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur-started off brilliantly as they trouble Jason Roy by attacking his stumps.

Roy was eventually dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal after he mistimes an attempted reverse-sweep. However, Jos Buttler took matters into his own hands as he smoked Chahal for three sixes and a boundary before stroking Shardul Thakur for two boundaries and a six as England raced to 1/58 in the powerplay.

Buttler completed his 11th T20I fifty in just 26 deliveries courtesy a single off Hardik Pandya in the 9th over. Malan top-edged a six on the very next delivery as the partnership crossed the 50-run mark.

Malan’s (18 off 17) struggle against spin finally came to an end as he got stumped in the next over bowled by Washington Sundar to give India a much-needed wicket.

India vs England 2021: Twitter Reacts As Jos Buttler's Whirlwind Knock Guides England To An 8-Wicket Win
Jos Buttler [Image-BCCI]
But, Jos Buttler continued to prove to be a thorn in India’s flesh. On a wicket where other England batsmen struggled, Jos Buttler, just like Virat Kohli, looked like he was batting on a completely different attack.

Post the wicket of Dawid Malan, Buttler and Jonny Bairstow milked the Indian attack as the required run-rate came well within control. Buttler soon notched up his highest T20I score.

India, England
Virat Kohli dropped Jos Buttler [Image-BCCI]
He eventually played a rare mistimed stroke- reverse-sweep off Yuzvendra Chahal- in the 15th over but for skipper Kohli, who dropped a not-so-tough chance at point.

Chahal, who had another poor outing as he conceded 1-41 in four overs, became another Indian fielder to drop a catch as he shelled a skier off the bowling of Shardul Thakur in the 17th over to give Jonny Bairstow a reprieve. The writing was pretty much on the wall and England eventually romped home courtesy consecutive boundaries in the 19th over to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

 

Virat Kohli’s [77 not-out off 46] masterclass helped India recover after a great start by England bowlers

Batting first, India once again got off to a poor start thanks to Mark Wood, who courtesy of his relentless pace and accuracy, proceeded to peg India back in the powerplay as he claimed two prized scalps in KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. The first batsman to be dismissed was KL Rahul, who was knocked over by a pacy delivery which seamed back in.

Rahul was once again tentative in his footwork and he was beaten for sheer pace and saw his timber being rattled. After Rahul’s dismissal, India proceeded to lose two more wickets in Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan.

KL Rahul
KL Rahul dismissed for a duck. (Photo: BCCI)

Wood claimed Sharma, who mistimed a pull on another pacy delivery by the fast bowler to give an easy catch to Jofra Archer at short fine-leg, Ishan Kishan top-edged an attempted pull off Chris Jordan.

India managed a mere 24 runs at the cost of three top-order wickets in the powerplay and it was all down to skipper Virat Kohli- who started his innings with an audacious cover-drive- and Rishabh Pant to address the fledgling ship.

The next 4 overs brought 31 runs with the majority of them coming against Adil Rashid. While Kohli smashed the leg-spinner over his head for a boundary, Pant scored consecutive fours off Rashid in the next over to bring up the teams’ 50.

India, England
Rishabh Pant [Image-Twitter]
But just as it looked like the partnership was taking shape, a poor call for a third run by Virat Kohli and Pant’s inability to say no to his captain, after Buttler misfielded a throw from the deep, ensured that India gifted a wicket to England against the run of play.

Read More  "It's okay to be unique" - Twitter slams Hardik Pandya as Sunrisers Hyderabad post highest-ever IPL total vs Mumbai Indians

The next 3.1 overs brought just two boundaries, ultimately leading to the demise of Shreyas Iyer, who holed out at deep backward point after he backed away and tried to cut Mark Wood for a six. India 5-86 after 14.3 overs.

Hardik Pandya, just like majority of Indian batsmen, struggled against raw pace of England bowlers but Virat Kohli after having played run-a-ball for a majority of his inning finally shifted gears to stroke two sixes and a couple of fours off Archer and Jordan in the 16th and 17th over to bring up his 27th half-century- his 6th in his last 12 innings.

India, England
Virat Kohli [Image-Twitter]
Kohli showed his class in the death overs as he played some sumptuous strokes, none better than the flat-batted six over mid-wicket off Mark Wood followed by a lofted drive over long-off and then a cheeky cut past third-man in the 18th over.

Hardik Pandya smashed his first six in the next over to bring up the 50-run-stand. Kohli backed it up with a boundary as he used the pace of Archer to cut it past third man.

Pandya (17 off 15) smashed a six on the first ball of the last over before getting dismissed on the last delivery while Virat (77* off 46 balls) played another sumptuous drive for a boundary as India scored 56 runs in the last 4 overs to eventually post 6/156.

 

Here’s how Twitter reacted-

https://twitter.com/Im_Vkohli_fan/status/1371814424919502854?s=19

Read More  "Madness in Hyderabad" - Twitter reacts as SRH batters outshine Hardik Pandya's MI in historic IPL 2024 clash

https://twitter.com/JishaLaha/status/1371813274304401419?s=19