Manchester: Rishabh Pant’s (125 n o, 113b, 16×4, 2×6) and an all-round show by Hardik Pandya (4/24; 71, 55b, 10×4) helped India beat England by five wickets and clinch the ODI series 2-1 here Sunday. The two also saw to it that Rohit Sharma’s gamble of electing to field after winning the toss was successful. Teams batting first had won eight out of the last nine matches that had been played on this ground.
There are certain days when the script is tailor-made for Pant. Coming in to bat with the score reading 21 for two, the wicketkeeper-batter ensured India win the game with 47 deliveries to spare. He and Pandya put on 133 runs for the fifth wicket when England threatened to take the game away with India four down for 72.
Both Pant and Pandya played the England bowlers with disdain hitting them to all parts of Old Trafford. Except for Reece Topley (3/35) none were able to make any impression on the two Indian batters. It augurs well for the India that the two ‘Ps’ are striking a good vein of form with the T20 World Cup looming large on the horizon.
Earlier Pandya and Mohammed Siraj (2/66) struck vital blows after England had been put in. Siraj, playing in place of Jasprit Bumrah, who miss the match with back spasms, dismissed Jonny Bairstow (0) and Joe Root (0) in quick succession to have the hosts tottering at 12 for two. It was only skipper Jos Buttler’s (60, 80b, 3×4, 2×6) innings which gave the England score a semblance of respectability.
Some lower-order contributions from Moeen Ali (34), Craig Overton (32), Liam Livingstone (27) and David Willey (18) helped England go past the 250-mark. However, the Indian bowlers chipped away with wickets at regular intervals to prevent England from putting up a threatening total.
Brief scores: England 259 in 45.5 overs (Jos Buttler 60, Hardik Pandya 4/24, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/60) lost to India 261 for 5 in 42.1 overs (Rishabh Pant 125 n o, Hardik Pandya 71, Reece Topley 3/35) by five wickets.