Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya give India an opportunity in decider
Innings India 329 (Pant 78, Dhawan 67, Hardik 64, Wooden 3-34, Rashid 2-81) vs England
England will chase 330 to win the third and remaining ODI and take the sequence after they bowled India out with ten balls to spare in Pune on Sunday.
Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya had India wanting robust at occasions because the momentum swung greater than as soon as within the innings, however England should have gone into the break the happier of the 2 groups regardless of the steep chase. England’s spinners made the early inroads after a century opening stand from Rohit Sharma and Dhawan, earlier than Mark Wooden’s three wickets on the finish restricted India to a complete that the vacationers would regard as attainable, provided that they efficiently chased down 337 with 39 balls up their sleeves to stage the sequence on Friday.
India’s openers started with extra intent and aggression than within the earlier two matches, Sharma and Dhawan guiding their aspect to 65 with out loss after ten overs, in comparison with the 39 for no loss within the first match and 41 for two within the second.
They began sedately and have been 16 for nought after 4 overs, however signalled a shift in gears within the fifth, which went for 15 runs as Sharma started with consecutive fours off Sam Curran earlier than Dhawan joined in.
England held management over the subsequent two overs, considered one of them a maiden from Wooden, who seemed to be battling sickness all through the innings. The Indian pair responded effectively, as Dhawan helped himself to 3 boundaries off 4 Reece Topley deliveries after which Sharma punished a full toss to the fence by midwicket.
Sharma and Dhawan introduced up India’s 100 from 14 overs and their 103-run stand got here off 91 balls earlier than Adil Rashid made the breakthrough in his second over, the fifteenth of the innings, with a googly that beat Sharma’s inside edge and hit the highest of off stump.
It was a double-strike for Rashid, who dismissed Dhawan with a pointy caught and bowled in his subsequent over and, when Moeen Ali acquired Virat Kohli out cheaply, shaping to smash him by further cowl solely to overlook and see the ball jag again to take out leg stump, India have been 121 for 3.
Liam Livingstone, enjoying solely his second ODI and bowling for the primary time, claimed a wicket along with his second ball, a hip-high full toss on leg stump that KL Rahul swiped behind sq. the place Ali took the catch leaping to his left.
With Wooden off the bottom, England had three spinners in motion and the very fact they accounted for all 4 wickets to fall at that time might have given India some meals for thought after they opted for the death-bowling choice of left-arm seamer T Natarajan over left-arm wristspinner Kuldep Yadav, who had been costly as England’s batsmen went to city within the second ODI.
Pant responded in Livingstone’s subsequent over with a six and a 4 off consecutive balls however Livingstone managed to comprise the harm with three dot balls. Hardik then went after Ali with three sixes within the subsequent over as he and Pant wrested again management, illustrating the fluctuating nature of the competition.
Curran ended Pant’s knock with a full supply that discovered the skin edge and Jos Buttler’s glove, thrust out to his left at great pace behind the stumps. Pant had shared a 99-run stand with Hardik, who introduced up his fifty off 36 balls and was joined on the crease by brother Krunal upon Pant’s departure.
Ben Stokes bowled Hardik spherical his legs making an attempt to show the ball to advantageous leg to finish his innings on 64.
Shardul Thakur provided a neat cameo of 30 from 21 balls and Krunal, enjoying his third ODI after making a half-century on debut within the first match of this sequence, managed 25 earlier than holing out to Jason Roy off Wooden. However their wickets have been amongst 4 to fall within the final 20 balls of the innings, which yielded simply 11 runs as India fell away to Wooden and Topley, Wooden ending with 3 for 34 from seven overs.
Valkerie Baynes is a common editor at ESPNcricinfo
