India Vs England 3rd T20 Report
The third and final T20I match of England’s tour to India in 2025 was an interesting game at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, where England registered a victory by 26 runs, thereby clinching the series with a score of 2-1.
The England innings commenced with another shaky start, as already by the end of the 2nd over, Phil Salt was gone for just 5 runs. The innings picked up when Ben Duckett played a spectacular knock of 51 off 28 balls, with 7 fours and 2 sixes. The two carried England to a respectable score through the partnership, which saw Jos Buttler add 24 off 22 balls.
The middle order was again tested with Dean losing wickets seemingly too often. The late hit by Liam Livingstone, whose knock of 43 was off 24 with 5 fours and a six. Varun Chakravarthy was by far the best among the Indian bowlers, having picked five wickets for 24 runs, including the sucking out of Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, and Livingstone. However, lower-order contributions from Rashid and Wood helped them somehow post a strong target with a score of 171 for 9 in 20 overs.
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India could hardly have seen this start coming, with Jofra Archer having put the squeeze on the run chase by taking Sanju Samson early at barely 3 runs. Abhishek Sharma did provide an injection of pace, scoring 24 off 14 balls, but he was gone by the 4th over, and his departure, courtesy of Brydon Carse, further hindered the chase. Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, could only manage 14 before being dismissed by Mark Wood, and after five overs, being 48 for 3.
Then it was up to the conjunction of Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya to consolidate the innings, with Varma posting 18 off 14. Pandya plucked the innings to decent standing with 40 from 35, but Jamie Overton’s dismissal of him in the 18th over all but sealed India’s fate. Washington Sundar and Axar Patel applied themselves, but they couldn’t influence the result. Archer returned to take another vital wicket, that of Axar Patel, finishing with 2 for 33.
Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton were the key figures in the England bowling attack: Carse snared 2 wickets while Overton took 3. Adil Rashid was also tight: he conceded a mere 15 runs in his 4 overs. The tail of India didn’t provide the requisite impetus, ending at 145 for 9, short of the target by 26 runs.
This match showcased the strength of England in the death overs, which was primarily responsible for leading them to victory. With such a win, the series now stands at 2-1, with England looking to perhaps level the series next. The match was also a tribute to the fighting spirit of the two sides along with the individual exploits from talents like Duckett, Livingstone for England, and Pandya for India-that made Rajkot a fine cricketing contest.
