India’s good run in the ongoing T20I series against England hit a stumbling block when they lost the third match shockingly by 26 runs. In Rajkot, the host team restricted England to a low total of 171/9 after opting to bowl first. But, as India needed to chase the low score, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and could score only 145/9 in reply, falling short by 26 runs. All the Indian batsmen disappointed during the innings, and their only saving grace was a time when Hardik Pandya made 40 runs off 35 balls.
With a 2-1 advantage margin from the score cards now in favor of the hosts, ex-India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel slammed Hardik for his slow approach in the match. “You can’t take 20-25 balls to settle in T20I. With this kind of game, you can’t take 20-25 balls to settle. It’s okay to take your time, but that should come with the regular rotation of strike. Hardik may have made 40 off 35, but there were too many dot balls early in his innings,” said Parthiv in the post-match show on Star Sports.
Other than Parthiv, former England skipper Kevin Pietersen also questioned Team India’s decision on pushing Dhruv Jurel at No.8. “India didn’t confirm with their batting order. Dhruv Jurel is a fantastic batter. You don’t want to hold him back lower down the order just so you can get the left and right combination going. I believe in your best batsmen batting regularly,” Pietersen explained.
Always the left-and-right combination is acceptable until No.3, but from No.4 onwards you are to send in your best batsmen. He is a proper batsman and could have built a big innings.”
Varun Chakravarthy earned five wickets for India while eventually losing the match. Chakravarthy has been a revelation for the T20I side since his return to the set-up last year. In fact, before this, he last played for India in 2021.
Chakravarthy was deadly in the third T20I, taking five wickets for 24 runs in four overs; the wickets were Buttler, Smith, Overton, Brydon Carse, and Archer.
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