India beat England to clinch ODI series 2-1
India beat England by 7 runs in a crunching thriller at Pune to clinch the ODI series 2-1 against England.
Chasing 330 to win – England opener Jason Roy started off quick scoring 14 runs in the first over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar seeked vengeance in the very over by bowling out the England opener. Bhuvneshwar Kumar got Rishabh Pant up the wickets to trap Jonny Bairstow lbw for just 1 run. England were soon reduced to 28-2 in 3 overs.
ALSO READ: India bowled out for 329 runs in the decider
Bhuvi almost got his 3rd wicket in the form of Ben Stokes when he was on just 15, but for the catch drop of Hardik Pandya at mid-off. Ben Stokes continued his usually flow with fellow lefty Dawid Malan giving him company.
Stokes eventually fell to a full toss by T Natarajan which he tried depositing in the stands but ended gifting into the hands of Shikhar Dhawan at deep mid-wicket much to the relief of Hardik Pandya. England were 68-3 at this moment in 10.3 overs.
Captain Jos Buttler could only manage 18 ball 15 runs before he was trapped in front by Shardul Thakur. England were now struggling at 95-4 in 15.1 overs.
New man in Liam Livingstone was quite dismissive of the bowlers in his approach as he and Malan combined to build a 60 run partnership in 54 balls. England were 155-5 at Livingstone’s departure for 36 runs in 31 balls with the aid of 4 fours and 1 six.
2 overs later Shardul Thakur picked his 3rd wicket in the form of Dawid Malan for a run a ball 50. With England reduced to 168-6 in 25.4 overs – England needed a new hero in the chase and it came in the form of Sam Curran.
Curran combined with Moeen Ali to take England to 200 in 30 overs mark. Moeen Ali fell victim to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s comeback spell.
England now needed 130 runs to win in 117 balls with 3 wickets in hand. Adil Rashid put on a much important stand of 57 runs in 53 balls for the 8th wicket before falling to Shardul Thakur! Thakur finished with bowling figures of 10-0-67-4.
This was when Sam Curran took control of the situation. He brought up his maiden half century in 45 balls and decided to take the game deep with England having just 2 wickets in hand. Curran was severe against Shardul Thakur whom he hit for 2 4 0 6 2 4 in the 47th over. This reduced the winning equation to 23 runs to win in 18 balls!
Captain Kohli brought back his spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bowl the 48th over with India losing hold of situation. Bhuvi conceded just 4 runs in the 48th over and finished with bowling figures of 10-0-42-3.
England now needed 19 runs to win in 2 overs and Kohli decided to use Hardik Pandya. Pandya delivered it for the captain conceding just 5 runs as Sam Curran took strike off the last ball with England needing 14 runs to win in 1 over.
The captain relied on the death over specialist T Natarajan to deliver it for the team. Natarajan started off with a delivery in the blockhole as Sam Curran slips at the non-strikers end with Wood already set on for the 2nd to give Curran the strike. Hardik Pandya throw was good enough to reach Rishabh Pant in time to get rid of Mark Wood who was trying to get back to the crease.
This set tone to the final over with Reece Topley giving strike to Curran the very next ball. Curran had to finish it in boundaries with England needing 12 runs to win in 4 deliveries. Natarajan’s skilful display of bowling at the blockhole did no good to Sam Curran’s boundary ambitions! The equation soon reduced to 12 in 2 balls with Sam Curran only managing a boundary off the penultimate delivery. Curran remained unbeaten on 95 runs in 83 balls with the help of 9 fours and 3 sixes. This is now the highest score by a No.8 batsman in ODI cricket history!
India won the match by 7 runs and clinched the ODI series 2-1 after securing the Test and T20I series before. England goes trophy less in the tour but they provided some great match ups.
Sam Curran was adjudged the Man of the Match while Jonny Baistow took home the Man of the Series Award!
Match Summary
INDIA 329 all out in 48.2 overs
Shikhar Dhawan 67 (56) – 10 fours
Rishabh Pant 78 (62) – 5 fours & 4 sixes
Hardik Pandya 64 (44) -5 fours & 6 sixes
Mark Wood 7-1-34-3
Adil Rashid 10-0-81-2
ENGLAND 322-9 in 50 overs
Ben Stokes 35 (39) – 4 fours & 1 six
Dawid Malan 50 (50) – 6 fours
Liam Livingstone 36 (31) – 4 fours & 1 six
Sam Curran 95*(83) – 9 fours & 3 sixes
Shardul Thakur 10-067-4
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-0-42-3
My dream team will feature Marcus Trescothick and Anil Kumble
