A sense of Deja Vu was sandwiched between Ben Duckett’s 28-ball 51 and Liam Livingstone’s quick-fire 43 off 24 after England were asked to bat first again. Varun Chakravarthy, their nemesis, was at it once more, draining the momentum of the middle-order. Despite this, England managed to post a competitive 171/9 in the third T20I in Rajkot, but the question lingered – would it be enough against India’s aggressive and power-packed batting line-up?
It turned out to be more than enough, thanks to Adil Rashid’s brilliance in the middle overs. His masterful spell not only derailed India’s middle-order but also effectively crushed their chase.
For the second time in his career, Varun saw a five-wicket haul go in vain as England applied the squeeze on India. This time, there was no Tilak Varma to guide them out of trouble. Rashid made sure of that, dismissing the left-hander early, thus preventing him from steering the middle-overs with the composure he had shown in Chennai.
As expected, the visitors stacked their bowling attack with a formidable pace battery, and Jofra Archer struck early, dismissing Sanju Samson with another short delivery. Abhishek Sharma’s adventurous knock was brought to an end by Brydon Carse, while Mark Wood ensured Suryakumar Yadav’s trademark scoop-flick fell short of the distance the Indian captain intended for it to go. India, nevertheless, flew off the blocks quickly, having crossed 50 inside the powerplay and Tilak’s six off Livingstone in the seventh over helped them sustain the momentum. The early signs suggested a smooth chase, driven by strike rotation, timely boundaries, and a calculated effort to take the game deep, like they did in the second T20I. It was anything but.
Having earlier been involved in a crucial 24-run stand for the final wicket with Wood, Rashid entered the attack in the eighth over and immediately tightened the screws on India with a masterful display of leg-spin bowling. His sharp leg-breaks proved decisive, as Tilak, who had remained unbeaten in his last four T20I innings, was bowled by a beauty that rattled the stumps. It became 68/4 at the end of the eighth over and by the time Rashid ended his spell, India were struggling at 90/5 after 14, needing 82 off the last six overs.