Bowlers kept their nerve at the crucial moments when India defeated England in a thrilling third and final ODI by seven runs and took the series 2-1 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday. Sam Curran, playing out of his skin, played one of the most outstanding limited shots of recent times under pressure and nearly scored a remarkable victory for the visitors. After the heroic acts of Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya with the bat helped India achieve a competitive total of 329 runs on a friendly batting track, Indian bowlers also joined the party and kept the bowlers in check. England batsmen early in the run chase. Just as India looked in a dominant position, Curran’s fighting punch gave the hosts some nervous moments and began to reflect on their field as they dropped a pair of catches in the penultimate envelope thrown by Hardik Pandya for sum up a bad day in the field. T Natarajan, playing his first game of the series, held his nerve and pitched superbly to defend 13 runs in the final.
Unlike the last two games, Bhuvneshwar Kumar fired England starters Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow cheaply in their first two overs to give India a solid start.
Last game’s hero Ben Stokes, despite getting a reprieve from Hardik Pandya early in his innings, failed to cover up his start and went out for 35 runs after landing a full shot from T Natarajan directly into the hands of Shikhar Dhawan. .
After his dismissal, Hardik breathed a sigh of relief and folded his hands in thanking Dhawan for taking a heavy load off his chest. England skipper Jos Buttler had a bad day and got out early after a successful overhaul by Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Dawid Malan teamed up with Liam Livingstone and put together a strong 60-run partnership to keep England alive in the game. Malan scored a half-century career, his first in ODIs, while Livingstone backed up his impressive debut performance with another solid 36-on-31-ball hit.
Shardul Thakur eliminated Malan and Livingstone within a couple of overs to put India in command. Moeen Ali also made a big contribution with a 29 of 25 balls, but it was Sam Curran whose first ODI 50 kept England on the hunt for a memorable victory.
Previously, after being put at bat by England captain Jos Buttler, India rode for half a century from Dhawan, Pant and Pandya to put total fighting on the board.
Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave the hosts a solid start, forging their series’ first century partnership, adding 103 runs to the opening wicket. Rohit was the first out after scoring 37 runs, while Dhawan continued his excellent form breaking another fifty in the series. They were both fired by Adil Rashid in quick succession when England pulled things out.
Kohli and KL Rahul also set off cheaply as spinners from England made inroads. After that, Pant and Hardik continued to hit with their natural attacking style and put pressure on the English bowlers with a 99-run position for the fifth wicket.
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However, both players came out in quick succession derailing India’s innings. Shardul Thakur landed some lustful punches towards the end, helping India cross the 300-run mark. Wickets continued to fall in death overs as India failed to play their full quota of 50 overs and were eliminated by 329 runs in 48.2 overs.
Mark Wood was the bowlers’ choice for visitors who returned with 3/34 of their seven overs, while Adil Rashid gave away 81 runs in his 10-over spell but represented crucial grounds for Indian starters.
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