England's challenge falls way short of India's batting might in series decider

India outplayed England completely in the moments that mattered in the final game of the series to clinch the five-match series 3-2 in Ahmedabad. Chasing a steep target of 225 runs was always going to be a monumental task for the tourists, and they fell short by 36 runs in a high-scoring game. 

The pair of Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan threatened to take the game away from India on the back of their brilliant stroke-making, but Indian bowlers held their nerves and won the crunch moments of the game to seal the deal for the team.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowler as he emerged as the trump card for Virat Kohli by picking up the wicket of a destructive Jos Buttler just at the right moment when the right-hander along with Malan was running away with the game. 

For a long period of time, it appeared as if they will out dominate the belligerence of India’s skipper and vice-captain who batted at the top of the order for India for the first time since 2014. However, first the wicket of Buttler, and then two crucial wickets of Jonny Bairstow and a well-set Malan by Shardul Thakur who is quietly making a reputation of being a man who fits in perfectly with tough situations for India broke the backbone of England in a stiff run chase.  

England had no option but to go from the word go in pursuit of 225 runs in a winner-takes-all decider and the situation was not an alien one for the opening pair of Jason Roy and Butler. The result of that approach however did not turn out to be how the England team would have hoped for as Bhuvneshwar Kumar found just enough swing in the air to beat Roy in his aggressive advancement down the pitch of the ball. 

The early wicket pegged England’s chances but they did not have the luxury of taking time to settle down. The situation was much more delicate for the next man in at the crease—Dawid Malan, who was facing scrutiny over his credentials for being the number one batsmen in T20Is.

After a silencing first over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya had to face the brunt of a brutal onslaught by Malan. The left-hander was in the mood to capitalise on the field restriction and no support from the pitch in terms of holding and gripping the balls and smashed Pandya on three different varieties of short balls attempted on three consecutive balls. The juggernaut began and Bhuvneshwar could not replicate his dreamy first over all over again as England started to stand on their feet in the chase.

In the last game and the recent past, England have displayed amazing game awareness to launch calculated attacks against bowlers who turn the ball towards the batsmen. It was done in the previous game when in the partnership between Ben Stokes and Bairstow the left-hander Stokes had attacked Chahar while the right-hander attacked Washington Sundar. The familiar script started to unravel in the fourth over when Buttler zeroed in on Sundar in the fourth over to ask questions off Virat Kohli.

But, the skipper had one extra layer of defence in this game as T Natarajan was brought into the playing XI in the place of an out of form KL Rahul. Seeing Sundar being attacked by Buttler, Kohli retorted with the pair of Natarajan and Shardul to check Malan and Buttler. However, the tactics did not pay off and England looked to set up for a crackerjack of a chase which was to the befitting end of a highly-competitive series between the top two sides of the world.

With 67 runs already scored in the first seven overs, and Jos Buttler on the strike, Kohli took a punt on his leg spinner Rahul Chahar. Buttler knew he had to bring his best game forward and do something more than the template to win England this game and put Chahar under tremendous pressure hitting two sixes in a confidence-wrenching manner for the bowlers. 

A dance down the track by the batsman was read well by Chahar and he attempted to shorten his length, but Buttler used his brutal power to muscle the ball over long-on while being so far away from the ball.  Chahar got afraid of him and started shortening his lengths to deny him any chance to loft, but Buttler used his power once more on the last ball of the over to send an away-turning leg spinner over long-off from backfoot to send India an ominous warning of what was to come deeper in the night.

Runs kept on flowing from the bats of both Buttler and Malan as even Natarajan who has earned a name for himself for being a banker with the ball in T20s had to go for long journeys thrice in his second over and it started to appear an England’s game to lose at the end of the 12th over with them needing only 98 runs from 48 balls with the luxury of having seven more wickets sitting comfortably in the dugout.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gained his rhythm back as the series progressed and Kohli had to go to his trump card to find a bit of magic in order to come back in the game.  After teasing and baffling both Malan and Buttler with his cutters in the initial part of his third over, he finally got Buttler mistiming an on-pace delivery to Hardik Pandya at long-off. The desperation was over and the move to bring back Bhuvneshwar was vindicated with Buttlers’ departure.

Although Buttler had put England in some position of command, they had to keep on going the way Malan and Buttler were going and hence, India had their eyes on opportunities that were coming on their way.

Shardul Thakur, who had broken the backbone of England in the last game picking up Ben Stokes and Morgan on consecutive balls, repeated his magic once again. He first dismissed Bairstow in the hands of Suryakaumr Yadav at deep cover with a well-disguised knuckle ball pitched well outside off while the same delivery found Malan playing very early two balls later to see his stumps rattled behind with a kiss of death.

With three departures in quick succession and the required run rate shooting past 16 runs per over in the last overs, the odds were heavily stacked against England. It got more monumental for them as Pandya returned with his second over and found Morgan top-edging a pull shot while getting cramped on a short ball around his off stump.

The game appeared out of England’s reach and when England sent Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer ahead of Sam Curran may be to continue with a left hander-right hander combination, the tourists started gasping in the middle.

It seemed a mere formality when England needed 62 runs off the last two overs even with the presence of England’s talisman Ben Stokes at the crease. All those hopes of unprecedented and unreal success were done and dusted when Natarajan accounted for Stokes midway through the 19th over.

Apart from winning a series that was so competitive at all levels, Virat Kohli and India would be elated in the manner of their conquest against a full-strength number one ranked side in the world. Their approach was a concern in their own admission and England appeared as clear favourites other than for their home conditions. 

Kohli won only one toss in the series which started to look like the most important predisposing factor in the outcome of matches. However, Kohli’s men rose through the ranks and emerged from the clouds of their self-doubts and found answers to questions they have been struggling to negotiate in the recent past.

India dropped KL Rahul who was looking horribly out of touch and Kohli decided to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order in order to set the tempo and walk the talk on batting with a different approach to batting in T20Is. 

The captain-vice captain duo looked set in their mindset to take the game to England's camp.  It appeared much clearer when they started taking on Mark Wood who has been their premier quick and was not any slower on Saturday night. Both the right-handers sat on their backfoot as Wood kept on coming with their throat as his target and both of them kept on putting him over fine leg boundaries either through aerial or with grounded shots.

Rohit was the more aggressive out of the two as Archer’s fuller deliveries were put in the gaps while Rashid was getting picked out of his hands to end up being deposited over the ropes.

Both Indian batsmen, especially Rohit Sharma had saved his best for the series finale as each man blasted Wood for one six in the last over of the powerplay and India were up and running at a thundering rate.  The end of powerplay brought no respite to England bowlers as the pair of Sam Curran and Jordan was not penetrative enough for Rohit and he reached a turbulent half-century in just 30 balls to set up a tremendous platform for the middle order to follow which they have been craving for throughout the series.

Stokes was called upon by Morgan to do something and the all-rounder delivered in a manner that has now become a normal day affair for Stokes while playing for any team. Although not before Rohit came at him as well and almost panicked the England team.

England would have hoped for some relief after Rohit’s departure but the next man in Suryakumar Yadav has been brought into the team to deny the opposition team exactly that sort of advantage. He has been the batsman who has walked from the prophecy of getting your eye in before hitting a big shot a long time ago from his batting and also has shots in his armoury to back the mindset.

He announced his arrival at the crease with a classical six over down the ground and followed that up with an inside out over extra cover—a shot he has made his own over the last couple of years, especially in the IPL. 

Back to back sixes off Rashid and three consecutive fours of Jordan saw Surya running away with the game at the rate of knots before another screamer of a catch saw him walking back to the pavilion. In the two chances he has got with the bat, bowlers have not found his measures and that only episodes of misfortunes which in this game was due to Jordan’s freakish fielding effort have seen him walking back to the pavilion.

Kohli had limited his role as a batsman after a steady start with bat till the bats of Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav talking in great terms against the England bowlers. However, the entry of Hardik Pandya and the desire to get as many as possible in the end overs brought the Indian skipper in beast mode. From wide yorkers to fast bouncers, Kohli was having an answer to all questions posed by the England bowling line up.

Pandya was appearing to regain his touch with the bat, and Kohli made sure that the hard work and the domination of Rohit and Surya would not go waste. The duo put on a magnificent 67 runs from the last five overs to bat England completely out of the game.

India won the series 3-2, but more importantly, Kohli and the team management were able to try a few new options which were fascinating prospects for the fortunes of the team going forward towards the T20 World Cup. 

India would be delighted at the successful transition of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan from IPL to international cricket while the return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya with the ball would be welcome news for the team as they are chasing an elusive global trophy missing from their list of achievement since the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.

For England, the failure to adapt will be a topic to be discussed in future before the World Cup. However, there are many positives they can take out from this series and the success of Adil Rashid and Mark Wood would be the most prominent ones.

 Jonny Bairstow has fitted perfectly into the role of an enforcer in the middle order, but Morgan would have to ponder over his and Ben Stokes’ batting positions when they will return for the World Cup later towards the end of this year.