India head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of 3rd T20I match vs England.© BCCI
Indian batters faltered against an incisive England bowling attack as the visitors lost the third T20I by 26 runs in Rajkot on Tuesday. It was a must-win game for the Three Lions, who were trailing 0-2 in the five-match series before the game. The win helped England keep the series alive and also gave the guests the much-needed momentum. Mohammed Shami made a solid comeback to international cricket after 14 months but it was Varun Chakravarthy‘s bowling effort that stood out as his five-wicket haul helped India limit England to 171 for 9. India should have chased down the target but the batters could only manage 145 for 9 in 20 overs.
Hardik Pandya scored a crucial 40 but that failed to win the game for India as other batters had a flop show.
While reacting to the hosts’ defeat, former Pakistan player Basit Ali said that India head coach Gautam Gambhir made a “technical and tactical mistake”. Basit explained that there was no dew in the ground and so India could have batted first as the ball was coming better onto the bat in the first innings.
Notably, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav had won the toss and opted to bowl first against England in the game at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot.
“England were 52 for 1 after the powerplay and India were 51 for 3. It looked a pitch as though 200 runs would be scored. (It didn’t happen) because there was no dew factor. But Gautam (Gambhir) made a technical and tactical mistake. He thought ‘let us bat later as we have already won two games’. I think the ball came on to the bat nicely in the first innings as compared to the second,” said Basit on his YouTube channel.
India still lead the series 2-1 with the fourth game scheduled in Pune on January 31.
(With PTI Inputs)
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