England has one of the more interesting squads in the world of cricket. Their team is designed to beat teams with pace. Yet, they have what it takes to take things slow. Those of you who watched the latest T20 in Rajkot saw this. Adil Rashid was the man delivering the key wicket at the expense of Tilak Varma. Rashid's superb performance was enough for England to write down their first win on the ongoing tour.
India tried their best but failed to chase down the 172. Regardless, India still leads the series 2:1 and has two more Twenty20 internationals on schedule. The game didn't start on high, not for the Englishmen after they played an awful game at batting. Ben Duckett was the only standout at this part of the game, who scored 51 points in 28. Yet, that was not enough to stop the 50 for 24 Varun Chakravarthy. The early exchanges saw an aggressive visitor cheered on by the home crowd despite their team losing five wickets for 19 runs.
While fans started seeing red, and another India win was on the cards for a while, the Men in Blue failed to give a decent enough reply to the Englishman for another win. Five English bowlers shared wickets, and Rashid gave an outstanding performance. The last effort to turn the tides was done by Hardik Pandya, who had a late 35-ball 40, but even his effort was thwarted by Jamie Overton, who took control of the game's pace. The end result was sealed by Jamie's three wickets in a 26-run victory, which is not something online casino Bitcoin outlets suggested with their odds before the match as everyone was placing bets on another India win left and right.
Once the game ended, everyone hyped up Adil Rashid, including Jos Buttler. For Buttler, Adil was one of the players who always delivered for England, turning himself into one of the vital players for the team who only gets better with every additional match. The captain always welcomes Such words of praise and added that Rashid is one of the more versatile English players whose strength lies in the first few balls. Adil knows how to bowl on the wicket and puts in work, concluded Buttler, painting Rashid as England's trump card.
What made England possible was not only Rashid but the presence of the white-ball captain Buttler. He was vital at the crease as India bowled first once again. As the toss fell India's way once again, Pandya opened the game cleverly against Phil Salt. A nuanced and fierce bouncer elevated his game by implementing a few slower balls, which made the Englishmen make a few mistakes and helped the Men in Blue cover for five.
Luckily for the home crowd, the Three Lions, their captain, found form. The famous lefty was everywhere around the crease, as he managed to scoop Mohammed Shami for six, followed by his outstanding duel vs. Pandya, only to wrap it all up with fifth fours in a row against Washington Sundar. After his stellar performance, Buttler remain calm while the team went through their stand of 76.
While the Three Lions won, the entire duel wasn't all roses for them. At one moment, Chakravarthy brought the game close. The 33-year-old spinner is one of the most recognizable players in the Indian Premier League, and in recent times, his image has gone global. England fans who didn't know him got the chance to meet him in the first two matches and were left impressed. Without Buttler putting in a shift, Chakravarthy would be feasting once again.
Another aspect of the game that brought about the Indian collapse was Duckett's deep midwicket that went off Axar Patel, which was concluded by Smith and Overton's consecutive deliveries in the 14th over. Jofra Archer was the one putting England's win in jeopardy after they went from 108 for three to 127 for eight, but thanks to the heroics of Liam Livingston, Rashid, and Mark Wood, the Three Lions had a 24-run stand, and the win was in the bag.
As we said at the start, the Englishmen's game is tailored for pace, and they were quick in the early wickets. Archer rushed Sanju Samson before dismissing Abhishek Sharma for 24. Wood slowed the pace once he limited the Indian captain, Suryakumar Yadav, to 14.
Considering everything that transpired during the match, England's win was a good one, but it came at a price. Unfortunately for the Three Lions, Smith had to leave the game with an apparent calf injury. Whether his presence will be missed in the following matches remains to be seen.
Despite the late setback, this duel needs to be remembered by the performance of all the Three Lions and the heroics of Rashid, who managed to play an anti-pace-fuelled game and stop Varma, who had an unbeaten 72 on Saturday and was getting the best out of Brydon Carse in this match, too.
The next T20 match between England and India is scheduled for 31 January, and we're expecting a fierce duel. Once again, India is favored to win it, and their odds are set at 1.57, while the English win is paid by 2.45, making them clear underdogs. Yet, the previous match showed that these lions can bite, so another surprise win is not off the cards.
