England crushed India by 125 runs in the third T20I of the five match series at Trent Bridge. After being invited to bat first, England posted a massive total of 201/7 in their 20 overs. Phil Salt scored a blazing 70 off 44 balls, while Sam Curran added a quickfire unbeaten 41 from 24 deliveries. Jos Buttler also contributed 36 runs off 21 balls. Prince Yadav (2/30 in 4 overs) was India's most successful bowler, while Harshit Rana also claimed two wickets.
In reply, India were bowled out for just 76 in 11.4 overs. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored 13 off five balls, was India's joint-highest scorer along with Ishan Kishan. Josh Tongue (4/28 in 4 overs) was England's standout bowler, while Jofra Archer picked up three wickets.
With this victory, England have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. India will need to work hard to regain momentum.
England Recover Well to Post 202
India made a positive start to the evening after captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. However, that decision backfired as England recovered from a slow start to post an imposing total of 202.
Phil Salt anchored the innings with a determined 70 from 44 balls. Although he never looked completely comfortable early on, he stayed at the crease long enough to guide England to a strong total.
India regularly picked up wickets and prevented England from building huge partnerships. The biggest stand of the innings was worth only 47 runs between Salt and Sam Curran, who scored a quick 41 off 24 deliveries by running aggressively between the wickets.
Prince Yadav impressed with both his pace variations and composure. Playing only his second T20I, he finished with figures of 2 for 32 and emerged as India's standout bowler.
Tongue Finishes the Job
England remained in complete control throughout India's innings. Even when Jos Buttler appeared to fumble a stumping chance against Tilak Varma, television replays confirmed he had kept enough control of the ball for the dismissal to stand.
India continued to lose wickets as panic spread through the batting order. Harshit Rana was promoted ahead of Shivam Dube, but the move failed to produce results. Dube lasted only four deliveries before Tongue beat him with another sharp short ball.
Tongue later dismissed Harshit as well after Tom Banton produced a superb diving catch at backward point. The fast bowler finished with outstanding figures of 4 for 28, the best T20 figures of his career. Despite representing Nottinghamshire, this was Tongue's first senior home appearance at Trent Bridge.
Salt Anchors England's Innings
England made an unusually slow start after Arshdeep Singh bowled a maiden over to Phil Salt. The hosts scored their first run only from the ninth delivery and reached just seven without loss after two overs.
Jos Buttler then shifted the momentum by smashing six boundaries during a brisk knock of 36 from 22 balls, his highest T20I score in his last 11 innings. England reached 49 for 1 after the powerplay, although Salt was still batting cautiously on a single-digit score. Prince Yadav dismissed Harry Brook in the ninth over to slow England again, with Salt reaching only 17 from 19 deliveries at that stage.
Salt Accelerates at the Right Time
After a slow beginning, Salt found his rhythm. He launched Varun Chakravarthy for a six before adding consecutive boundaries. India missed an opportunity to save runs in the field, reflecting an untidy performance throughout the innings. England lost two wickets in two balls to Harshit Rana, making Salt's role even more important.
Salt and Sam Curran then added 47 runs in just 26 deliveries through aggressive running and smart stroke play. Salt reached his half-century from 36 balls, his joint second-slowest T20I fifty.
He later hit Arshdeep Singh for a six over deep backward square and cleared long-on against Axar Patel. However, Axar had the final word by removing Salt on the very next delivery, forcing a top edge to point.
Prince Yadav Provides India's Bright Spot
Prince Yadav delivered an impressive performance despite India's heavy defeat. Returning to the side in place of Ravi Bishnoi, the young pacer made an immediate impact. He dismissed Jos Buttler with a perfect leg-stump yorker on the first ball of his spell after being introduced to finish the powerplay. In his next over, he removed Harry Brook by cleverly following a slower delivery with a sharp short ball that caught the splice of the bat.
Although his third over proved more expensive as Salt and Curran attacked him, Prince finished strongly. He conceded only seven runs in the 19th over and could have claimed a third wicket had Harshit Rana not dropped a straightforward catch at deep midwicket. Despite the disappointing team result, Prince's disciplined spell was one of the few positives India could take from a difficult evening at Trent Bridge.
India Collapse During Run Chase
India's chase started aggressively but quickly turned into a disaster. The visitors lost five wickets inside the first five overs and never recovered. They eventually folded for just 76, with no batter managing to score more than 13 runs. Their innings lasted only a little over half of the allotted 20 overs. The crushing defeat was India's worst-ever loss in T20 internationals.
Aggressive Start Ends in Disaster
India attempted to attack England's fast bowlers from the beginning. Young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hit two sixes within his first three balls. Abhishek Sharma also cleared the boundary as India raced out aggressively. India struck three sixes in the opening nine deliveries, while England had managed only a single run at the same stage of their innings.
However, the bold approach soon backfired against the pace of Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue. Tongue claimed his maiden T20I wicket when Abhishek mistimed a shot to point. Archer then hurried Sooryavanshi with a sharp bouncer, forcing him to glove the ball behind.
Ishan Kishan briefly continued the attack with another six but was caught at deep backward square leg. On the very next ball, captain Shreyas Iyer found the same fielder with a flick shot. Promoted to No. 5, Axar Patel managed a dot ball, a four and a six before edging Archer behind, leaving India struggling at 52 for 5 after only five overs.