Twitter Reactions: Team India trashes England in the series decider to bag T20I series 3-2

India beat England by 36 runs to seal the five-match series 3-2.

By Bijoy

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Virat Kohli
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Virat Kohli. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images)

India overcame fighting fifties from Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler to beat England by 36 runs in the fifth and final T20I and clinch the series 3-2. Asked to bat first, the Virat Kohli-led side posted a mammoth total of 224 for 2 in the stipulated 20 overs. In reply, England put up a good fight but their challenge eventually fizzled out.

Chasing 225, England lost Jason Roy for a duck in the very first over but quickly recovered thanks to Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler’s 130-run partnership. Despite losing the early wicket, the duo played the big shots without any hesitation to keep their team in the hunt. By the time the powerplay came to an end, the visitors had raced away to 62 for 1.

There was no respite for India even after the field restrictions came to an end. With the dew making things tough for the bowlers, Buttler and Malan made the most of it as they matched each other shot for shot. They completed the 100-run partnership in just 56 balls. Malan and Buttler soon reached their fifties off 33 and 30 balls respectively.

India finally got the breakthrough in the 13th over Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Buttler for 52. One over later, Shardul Thakur dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Malan in a space of three balls to reduce England to 142 for 4 and put India on top. Even before the tourists could add any run to their score, Hardik Pandya struck to remove Eoin Morgan for just 1.

England could not recover after losing those wickets in quick succession and rarely looked in contention to chase down the total during the last few overs of the game. They eventually ended their innings on 188 for 8. For India, Bhuvneshwar was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for just 15 off his four overs. Thakur picked up 3 wickets but was expensive as he gave away 45 runs.

Rohit, Kohli’s fifties power India to a huge total

Earlier in the game, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s fifties guided India to their highest-ever T20I against England – 224 for 2 – in the allotted 2o overs. After failing to get good starts in the previous four games, India opened with Rohit and Kohli and the move paid off. For the first time in the series, the Men in Blue did not lose any wicket inside the powerplay and had raced away to 60 for no loss at the end of six overs.

Rohit and Kohli added 94 runs in just 54 balls for the first wicket before Ben Stokes dismissed the former for 64 to end the partnership. The wicket, however, did not affect India’s momentum as Suryakumar Yadav came out all guns blazing. He scored 32 off just 17 balls and shared a 49-run stand with Kohli before a stunning effort from Chris Jordan near the boundary ropes ended his innings.

After Suryakumar’s departure, Kohli shifted gears and found an able partner in Hardik Pandya. The duo took the English bowlers to the cleaners to ensure India finished the innings on a strong note. They shared an unbeaten stand of 81 runs off just 40 balls for the third wicket to guide the team to 224 for 2. Kohli remained unbeaten on 80 off 57 balls while Pandya scored 39 off 17 balls.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:

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