India win by 7 runs, seal ODI series vs England 2-1. It was a thriller of a match and the result was unknown till the penultimate delivery of the match. Both teams scored runs at a quick pace from the beginning but also kept losing wickets. Finally India was able to win the match as 12 runs were required off the last 2 balls to be bowled by T Natarajan.
Brief Scores
India 329-10(48.2 overs). R Pant 78(62), S Dhawan 67(56), M Wood 3/34, A Rashid 2/81.
England 322-9(50 overs). S Curran 95*(83), D Malan 50(50), S Thakur 4/67, B Kumar 3/42.
Result: India beat England by 7 runs, win the series 2-1.
Man of the Match: Sam Curran
Man of the Series: Jonny Bairstow
England captain Jos Buttler won the toss again. This was actually the 10th time Virat Kohli lost the toss in the series out of 12. Buttler chose to field first as chasing has been easier in the MCA Stadium, Pune.
Rishabh Pant top scores with 78 runs off just 62 balls
India were off to a good start. The openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put up a century stand among themselves. But then India lost 4 quick wickets and 157-4 at one point. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya had a superb partnership of 99 runs just then. They played superb counter-attacking cricket. Both completed their respective half-centuries.
Sam Curran remains unbeaten on 95, fails to get England over the line
England lost 2 wickets in the power play and both were taken by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Then Dawid Malan scored a run-a-ball half-century. But England kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They were reduced to 200-7 at one point. Then Sam Curran played the best ODI innings of his life. He was involved in 2 half-century partnerships with the number 8 and 9 batsmen respectively. But this was not enough as England lost the match in the last over.
Sam Curran was adjudged Man of the Match for his superb knock of 95 off just 83 deliveries. He hit 9 fours and 3 sixes in the process
Jonny Bairstow was awarded the Man of the Series. He was the highest run-getter in the series. He scored 219 runs in the series including a crucial century in the second match which helped England win the must-win match.
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