ENG vs IND: 3rd ODI Review – Pant-Pandya guide India to series win
India defeated England in the third and final ODI of the series by five wickets at Old Trafford. Chasing a tricky target of 260 runs, India stumbled earlier in the innings but heroics from Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya ensured that India clinched the ODI series in an enthralling finale.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss for the third consecutive time in the series and decided to bowl first just like the previous two occasions. England were off to an enterprising start after opener Jason Roy dispatched Mohammad Shami for three boundaries in the first over of the match.
But Mohammed Siraj Made sure in the second over that the hosts didn’t get off to a flier as he bowled a sensational double wicket maiden in the second over of the match, dismissing two of the most in-form English batters, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root. The latter was dismissed for the second duck of the three-match series.
Jason Roy and Ben Stokes continued playing positively after those two early wickets and registered a 54-run stand for the third wicket. India once again struck with two quick wickets of the settled Roy and Stokes, and England were in a messy situation on 74-4. But a captain’s knock from Jos Buttler and resilience from the lower order batter meant that the hosts finished with a respectable total of 259 on the board.
India in their chase, much like the previous encounter, stumbled after losing their top three batters, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli, cheaply to a menacing Reece Topley. After those early wickets, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav consolidated for a brief while before the latter was dismissed by Craig Overton in the 17th over.
Pant was joined by Hardik Pandya at the crease, and the duo not only took India to safety but also added a 130-run stand that put India on the cusp of victory. Pandya was dismissed after a brisk 71 off 55 balls, while Pant guided India to a historic series win with his maiden century in ODI cricket.
Top Performers of the match
Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya came into bowl for the Indian side as Jason Roy and Ben Stokes were punishing the Indian pacers after suffering two early setbacks. The all-rounder removed both the set batters in quick succession to hand India an upper hand in the early stages of the match. He then returned to break the backs of the English batting order by dismissing the dangerous Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone in the 37th over. He finished with impressive figures of 4/24 in his seven overs.
Rishabh Pant
India’s man of the moment, Rishabh Pant notched his maiden century in what proved to be a stroll in the park eventually. The explosive southpaw was watchful early in the innings, and it wasn’t until the dismissal of Pandya that he put his foot on the accelerator. The 24-year-old scored a scintillating 125 off 113 deliveries and quite fittingly hit the winning runs for the Indian team.
