The man of the match award goes to … Chahal, obviously, for his brilliant six for 25. And the player of the series prize goes to Bumrah, for his excellence throughout. Bowlers dominating the T20 honours is encouraging to see, particularly at a batting paradise such as this one. Kohli comes up to the podium for a chat. “The players have shown a lot of character throughout the season,” says the captain, praising the value of having experienced players such as Dhoni in the side, who have helped with advice on bowling changes, as well as his youngsters. Yuvraj’s onslaught against Jordan is cited as a turning point for India while matchwinner Chahal “plays his cricket with confidence, he’s not shy of going for a few runs, and that’s the sort of character he has, with so much zeal and confidence”.
Trevor Bayliss then speaks to Sky’s Nick Knight: “The way we finished tonight was not a fair indication of how we’ve played in this series”, he says, admitting “we’re not probably quite world class players of spin as yet.” More generally, he says, England “need to get 100s in ODIs and 70s and 80s from our big players in the Twenty20s. Our bowlers, for the first time in this series, didn’t quite execute their plans well enough.” Eoin Morgan meanwhile is praised for dealing with the pressure he was under over his form going into the tour, to which he responded excellently, and he acknowledges that some players might benefit from playing in the IPL while other, less experienced, players might benefit more from giving it a miss and focusing on nailing down a place in the national team.
And that’s it. England’s long multi-pronged tour is over, and it’s been a pretty chastening one at times. They are still a decent, much-improved white-ball team but don’t have the nous and depth of India, who have been that much cleverer in all forms of the game this winter. And of course the enduring problems against spin are no closer to being solved. So as Kohli lifts the series trophy, we’ll sign off. Thanks for your company and emails. Bye.
And now, the presentation: Ravi Shastri calls forth Eoin Morgan, who describes his and Root’s swift dismissals as “fatal errors”, and then generously praises Chahal for his wonder-over and performance. “We could have done with myself and Joe getting 70 or 80 … it’s a beautiful wicket to bat on. I thought we bowled well, maybe gave 10 runs too many away.” Looking for positives, he praises the improvement in England’s bowling overall during the tour, while admitting tonight’s batting performance was “probably our worst in the past couple of years”.
Here’s a match report from Bengaluru
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Chahal’s six-wicket haul is only the third such in international T20s, a remarkable stat among many today – pick of the others being the eight for eight collapse. “This is one of those matches where you wish Boycott was doing the summary at the end, you’d be able to hear the steam coming out of his ears,” writes Scott Thomas. He’d certainly have fumed at how England were only halfway out of bed in those latter stages.
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Yuvraj Singh, reflecting on his and his team’s batting display, tells Ravi Shastri that at Bangalore 200 is “merely a par score”, which rubs it in for England a tad. He parise Mishra, beside him, for setting the tone with his tightness and variations. While back in dank damp England, yer man Rob Smyth pipes up: “Send ‘em ho- oh.” Indeed. The departure lounge beckons.
So, for the third time in this series, the matchwinner has been a bowler. Chahal’s three-wicket over was remarkable, and India made their pressure and accuracy count, though England lost their heads completely, once Root had thrown away his wicket. John Ryan agrees. “You can always rely on England to make a balls of it,” he thunders, “this is one of the most pathetic collapses you will ever see… 119-2 to 127-9. Disgraceful.”
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Wicket! Mills c Kohli b Bumrah 0, England 127 all out; India win by 75 runs
And that’s that. Mills slices to slip where, inevitably, Kohli is stationed to take a smart catch. Adil Rashid is left stranded on nought as England have lost eight wickets for eight runs.
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Wicket! Plunkett b Bumrah 0, England 127-9
Accurate bowling, pretty dismal shot. This is a rout. Seven wickets have fallen for eight runs.
16th over: England 127-8 (Plunkett 0); target 203. Chahal continues the wicket-fest, in style, taking Moeen’s wicket after confounding him with a googly. Stokes manages a rare boundary with a straight drive but he goes next ball, after a review, after a brilliant exhibition of balance and co-ordination from Raina to catch him on the legside boundary. He’s not done yet though, getting Jordan with the last ball of the over.
Wicket! Jordan st Dhoni b Chahal 0, England 127-8
Chahal has six. He beats Jordan with a ripper of a leg-break, giving Dhoni an easy stumping. This is T20 bowling at its absolute finest.
Wicket! Stokes c Raina b Chahal 6, England 127-7
What a collapse this is. Raina – just – manages to catch Stokes on the ropes, tottering by their edge, prompting a TV review to see whether his feet had stayed inside the pitch. They have. Chahal has five wickets.
Wicket! Moeen c Kohli b Chahal 2, England 123-6
Moeen misjudges a wrong’un, slogs high but not far enough and Kohli calls for this early and takes it easily.
15th over: England 123-5 (Stokes 2, Moeen 2); target 203. No pressure on England’s fiercest ball-strikers then, with neither off the mark and a mammoth rate now required. Bumrah comes in, a man who knows how to rein in big hitters, and forces Buttler into a backfoot defensive stroke straight away. Worse is to follow for England – Buttler is dismissed, mishitting a slog and giving Kohli an easy chance. The length was too short for that sort of shot. Stokes and Moeen get some singles, but singles are no good. England have won eight tosses on this tour in all formats, Nick Knight reminds us, but it hasn’t done much good.
Wicket! Buttler c Kohli b Bumrah 0, England 119-5
And another! England are being completely outplayed now – Buttler mistimes an attempted legside swipe, it goes straight up in the air to Kohli at mid-off, and it’s the easiest of catches.
14th over: England 119-4 (Buttler 0, Stokes 0); target 203. A full-time spinner replaces a part-time one: Chahal for Raina, and what an over it is for India! Morgan grubs the first ball away for one but Root can’t work anything away at the moment, and slightly mistimes a drive to long-off for another single. But Morgan perishes, holing out in frustration, and then Root is pinned lbw next ball, his innings having run aground somewhat. Two more dot balls close it out. This is how to make pressure count, and India are firm favourites to win this series now. Only five have been scored off the last two overs.
Wicket! Root lbw b Chahal 42, England 119-4
Two in two for Chahal, as Root is pinned lbw on the back foot.
Wicket! Morgan c Pant b Chahal 40, England 119-3
India’s spin pressure pays off, Morgan rashly hitting out at a googly, swiping it straight to deep square leg where Pant takes an easy catch.
13th over: England 117-2 (Root 41, Morgan 39); target 203. Mishra, who’s been impressive, takes his final over. Root gives Morgan the strike straight away with a nonchalant drive for one, but the England captain almost chucks it away, inside-edging an attempted legside sweep and almost playing on. They run one before Root is dropped – a horrible drop this, from a beautiful slower ball that Root slices to backward point where there appears to be hesitancy over whose call it was and the chance is spilled by Yuvraj. Will India’s fielding blunders cost them? Whatever, it’s an excellent over from Mishra – the best of the entire match – full of perplexing variety and accuracy. He ends with 1-23.
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12th over: England 114-2 (Root 40, Morgan 38); target 203. Spin at both ends as Raina comes into the attack, and is almost certainly walloped straight out of it. Root tries to take him on straight away but his straight drive goes straight to a fielder and brings only one. Morgan is rather more successful in giving the treatment to the next two balls, advancing a step and belting one high against the spin over long-on for SIX, before his next shot is even better, on the offside this time, and bringing SIX more. After a wide comes the third SIX of the over, pulled fiercely over square leg. A couple of singles complete England’s best over so far: 89 needed off eight.
11th over: England 92-2 (Root 38, Morgan 19); target 203. Mishra continues, with Morgan pushing his first ball away on the legside for a single. Root toe-ends down the ground for another and a Morgan straight drive is brilliantly cut off before reaching the boundary. There are six off the over in total and no boundaries: ones and twos aren’t really what England want at the moment. They need to think about when their serious assault is going to come, and whether Buttler should come in next.
10th over: England 86-2 (Root 36, Morgan 15); target 203. Pandya bangs it in again, and Morgan nudges on the offside for a single. Root deflects a similar length ball away to leg for another before Morgan cuts more expansively but only, again, for one towards deep extra cover. Pandya persists with the same length and is finally counterattacked, Root pulling the next ball over midwicket for SIX, easy as you like. Less easy on the eye is the ugly swing and miss that rounds off the over. England need 117 more at the halfway point, as the PA system aggressively nags the assembled into doing a Mexican wave. Resist!
9th over: England 77-2 (Root 29, Morgan 13); target 203. Morgan finds a gap, driving a perfectly presentable delivery past the diving extra-cover for four. A deft reverse sweep off a ball pitched in the same area brings four more, and a repeat cover drive adds another couple. Three singles round off a necessarily productive over for England.
8th over: England 64-2 (Root 28, Morgan 1); target 203. Another new bowler, Pandya, is given a bruising introduction by Root, who clips his first ball high over deep midwicket for SIX, before being beaten outside off stump off the next. A lofted drive to long off brings another single and a slower cutter pins Morgan back on the defensive. Morgan gets off the mark with a single off the last ball of the over, which was a very good one after going for six first off.
7th over: England 56-2 (Root 21, Morgan 0); target 203. How dewey is it out there? We might be about to find out, as Mishra is the second spinner brought into the attack, and produces a superb over. And the change works: Roy, reprieved by the fielding miscall earlier, is sent packing after mistiming a sweep across the line and giving Dhoni an easy catch. A googly and a couple of probing accurate balls keep Root in check, and his sweep to deep square leg for one off the fifth ball is the only scoring shot of the over, which ends with Morgan cutting and missing outside off stump.
Wicket! Roy c Dhoni b Mishra 32, England 55-2
Roy mistimes a slower, tossed-up ball from Mishra and sweeps it straight up into the air for Dhoni to take
6th over: England 55-1 (Roy 32, Root 20); target 203. Nehra gets his third over in succession, which starts with a slow low-bouncing legside wide. Nehra then sends one through Root’s defences, an attempted legside swipe being completely missed. A quick single is followed by a crunching four from Roy, pulled in front of square on the legside, that brings up the 50. Another single and a beautiful lofted off drive from Root bring us to the end of the powerplay. Still anyone’s game, this.
5th over: England 44-1 (Roy 27, Root 15); target 203. Bumrah, the star of the last match, gets his first taste of the action, and Roy takes him on straight away, lofting a slower ball down the ground for four. The comeback ball is quicker and hurries Roy up, forcing a defensive dab and a dot ball. Roy, confronted with an offside-heavy field, manipulates the next one round the corner for a single off the back foot. Root is well tucked up by Bumrah’s speared-in back of a length bowling but shows his class to cut one through the gaps for four. A high-class bat v ball contest, this.
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4th over: England 34-1 (Roy 22, Root 10); target 203. Roy sweeps high and confidently over backward square leg for four. But there’s still a sense Chahal can make things happen, and he confounds Roy’s attempted charge down the pitch with a pushed-through full-length delivery that the batsman scratchily inside edges past the keeper for two. Roy doesn’t look entirely happy with everything bowled at him but pushes down the ground for one and Root does likewise on the legside, again not quite timing or reading a tricky one out of the back of the hand.
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3rd over: England 25-1 (Roy 14, Root 9); target 203. Roy pulls fine on the legside off Nehra and gets four. A single brings Root on strike and the Yorkshireman cracks a lovely square drive to the boundary for four. It’s a good battle between Nehra’s variations, slower balls and general accuracy, and Root’s class, which shows itself again off the final ball of the over, which is pulled effortlessly to square leg for four.
2nd over: England 12-1 (Roy 9, Root 1); target 203. Spin early on, with Chahal taking the new ball at the other end. And an incident-drenched over ensues. Roy confounds the entire ground with the most effortless, nonchalant, confident reverse sweep over square leg for SIX that you’d ever wish to see. A single brings Billings to the strike for the first, and last, time. He’s given out caught on review. And it should have been two wickets in two balls, as Roy hashes an attempted run off Root’s first ball. Roy charges down from the non-striker’s end, but the ball is thrown at the wrong end and the batsman gets back and gets away with it. The final ball of the over sees Mishra tumbling comically by the boundary to retrieve the ball as two are yielded.
Wicket! Billings c Raina b Chahal 0, England 8-1
Billings goes first ball – inside-edging the spinner low onto his boot and it bounces up for the diving Raina to take the catch, given on review.
1st over: England 1-0 (Roy 0, Billings 0); target 203. Drama straight up as Roy survies a fierce, nagging lbw appeal off the first ball from Nehra, but it was going down offside. But it’s a very good first over, that Roy can’t get away at all – the first five balls are all dots: again it’s the accurate just short-of-a-length stuff that does the trick on this surface. Only a scurried leg-bye off the final ball brings England anything. An excellent start for India.
So England have it all to do then, though this is by no means an abnormal target on this ground, and they do have the batting capable of chasing it. However, some occasional variable bounce and turn might encourage India. We shall see. I’m off for a brief coffee break and will be back in a bit. In the meantime, how about some interval reading? Here’s John Ashdown on the first floodlit cricket match, at the then scruffy old Stamford Bridge:
Innings closed: India 202-6 off 20 overs
20th over: India 202-6 (Pant 6, Pandya run out 11) The final over begins with an absolute howler of an offside wide from Jordan, whose next ball is met on the full by Dhoni and walloped to the long-off boundary for four. But he perishes next ball, top edging a pull round the corner into the hands of Rashid. The end of a characteristically smart innings. New man Pandya drives his first ball high towards deep point where it’s just about cut off by the ropes by Roy. But Roy suffers next ball though, not quite managing to get hold of another slog in the same area from Pandya and spilling it over the ropes for SIX. Two more follow to bring up the 200 before Pandya is run out trying to scurry back for two off the last ball, which was a better and more accurate slower ball from Jordan, who’s not had one of his better nights.
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Wicket! Dhoni c Rashid b Jordan 56, India 191-5
Jordan begins his over badly then makes amends by inducing a top-edged hook that Dhoni mistimes to short fine leg where Rashid pouches it.
19th over: India 186-4 (Dhoni 52, Pant 6) Yuvraj’s cameo is excellently brought to an end by Mills and he’s replaced by the wonderkid debutant Pant, who’s off the mark straight off with a flick to square leg for a single. Dhoni adds another. Pant makes a hash of a legside swipe but it’s called wide so he gets another go, but can only dig out a leg-bye. It’s a really good over, this, with pace taken off and backs of hand used, and there are no boundaries until Pant meets a slower ball with a determined pull to the square leg boundary for four off the last ball. And that ends Mills’ series with the ball – he’s been a real asset.
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Wicket! Yuvraj c Buttler b Mills 27, India 177-4
Brilliant comeback from Mills, spearing a slower ball into the rampant left-hander, who is completely fooled by it and dabs it behind to Buttler for an easy catch.
18th over: India 177-3 (Dhoni 50, Yuvraj 27) Utter carnage. India scoff at Jordan’s death-bowling reputation and take him to the cleaners. Dhoni begins the over by grubbing out a single to mid-on for a single to bring up that elusive T20 fifty. Yuvraj, who’d hitherto been quiet and largely off-strike, makes amends for all that by lofting the next two balls over long-on for sweetly timed SIXES. All about the timing, these – and they were only fractionally overpitched. A flick for four on the legside continues the carnage, before the next ball – again a little too full – is nonchalantly almost toe-ended straight down the ground for another SIX. A good yorker rounds off the over, and brings only a single.
17th over: India 153-3 (Dhoni 49, Yuvraj 4) Dhoni is batting with intelligence as well as aggression here, as so often, and he sends an accurate length ball from Stokes straight past him along the ground for four. A clip to wide long-on for two is followed by an excellent slow yorker which does that rare thing – flummoxes Dhoni, who misses it completely. He can’t stay on the defensive for long though, and sends another full ball skimming in the air through the onside for a four that wasn’t far off being six, bouncing just by the ropes. A single takes him to 49 – one short of his first (!) international T20 fifty. That’s what you get for batting down the order I guess. Stokes ends with figures of 1-32 from his four.
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16th over: India 142-3 (Dhoni 38, Yuvraj 4) The openers are back to close it up: Mills returns to the attack, round the wicket at Dhoni, who punishes just the slightest straying of line by deflecting one down to the fine leg boundary for four. A square cut off a shorter ball brings a single before Yuvraj is also caught off balance by a shorter ball that dobs up off his bat handle; they still run one. Mills takes the pace off the next ball, restricting Dhoni to one, before conceding a legside wide. There are more singles and though it’s an expensive over, it’s still a pretty good one, technically.
15th over: India 132-3 (Dhoni 31, Yuvraj 2) Stokes bowls his third over, and it starts well enough, restricting India to three singles and a dot ball, before Dhoni finds a gap with an subtle and intelligent back-foot glide between third man and backward point for four. Another one takes Dhoni to 31 from 21 balls – and there I was thinking he’d begun slowly.
14th over: India 124-3 (Dhoni 25, Yuvraj 0) Plunkett comes back into the attack as the onslaught continues. Dhoni gets hold of a straight full-length delivery and sends it over the boundary for SIX more. Raina tries something similar off the third ball of the over, but slices it up in the air and is caught at point by Morgan. A good slower comeback ball. Dhoni, on strike as the batsmen crossed when Raina was out, adds a couple of well-run twos.
Wicket! Raina c Morgan b Plunkett 63, India 120-3
Raina’s excellent innings ends. He slices an attempted straight drive for six and it goes up and down for Morgan to take a simple catch
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13th over: India 113-2 (Raina 63, Dhoni 21) Moeen hasn’t always been read and judged by the batsmen here but his first ball of this over is, and lofted with clinical ruthlessness straight down the ground for SIX. Four singles – including a fine diving stop at short fine leg from Mills – follow before Moeen completes his spell with a really sharp leg-break that beats both Raina and the wicketkeeper Buttler and runs straight down to the boundary for four byes. India’s spinners will have enjoyed that more than anyone else in the ground. Moeen ends with 4-0-30-0.
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12th over: India 99-2 (Raina 55, Dhoni 12) DROP: Rashid does the first part well – inducing a mistimed straight drive from Raina – but bungles the key bit, spilling the ball when it goes straight at him. A single brings Dhoni to the strike and the former captain cuts loose for the first time, belting a length ball with the spin over long-on for SIX. A single is followed by Raina doing the same, bringing up his half-century by belting it over midwicket for SIX more. India are back on the charge.
11th over: India 84-2 (Raina 47, Dhoni 5) Moeen continues, economically, yielding three singles and frustrating the batsmen a touch with his back of a length testers. A tickle to fine leg by Raina brings two more but it’s a boundary-free over.
“We should be looking forward 30 years, not back,” writes modernity’s Andrew Benton, “will cricket in its present form exist in 2047? Will we? Future thinking, future planing, for the future we want! England victories, each and every time? Bails that not only don’t need their batteries changed, but don’t need batteries at all? What a future that would be! “
10th over: India 78-2 (Raina 43, Dhoni 3) Rashid comes into the attack for the first time, conceding a couple of singles with smart deliveries before Raina square cuts delicately and delightfully for four. Rashid’s variations look more likely to bring wickets but also concede runs, as Raina glides the subsequent ball down to third man for two. The final ball of the over demonstrates the fact – tossed-up, a little slower and almost dollied back to the bowler for a return catch but it bounces short of him. The groundstaff run on with their ropes to dew-sweep.
Replays are now showing that the ball from which Stokes dismissed Rahul was a front-foot no-ball. Unreferred and unappealed.
9th over: India 70-2 (Raina 36, Dhoni 2) Moeen continues, conceding a couple of singles, before tucking up Raina good and proper when he switches to round the wicket – it’s straight, accurate and not overpitched and three dots reward him before a hurried single completes a second consecutive good over for England.
8th over: India 67-2 (Raina 34, Dhoni 1) Raina glides a Stokes delivery down to wide third man for one before Rahul is cleaned up, slogging and missing at a straight one. Dhoni moves up the order and is in next, getting off the mark with a cut down to third man for a single. His star quality remains, and the crowd yell his name eagerly. But this is a good over from Stokes, containing no boundaries and only three runs, though some signs of pitch unpredictability – the last ball of the over grubbing low after hitting a crack. This will be better news for India than England, overall.
Wicket! Rahul b Stokes 22, India 65-2
Sometimes, in life, a man just gotta bowl at the stumps. Stokes does, Rahul heaves across the line and misses, and England have a desperately needed breakthrough.
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7th over: India 64-1 (Rahul 22, Raina 32) England need to rein this one back in, but they’re not managing it yet. There’s a change of pace with middle-overs master Moeen’s introduction. Raina nudges on the offside to bring up the 50 partnership, as Moeen’s first two balls are tight back of a length fare. The third, however, is not: it’s fuller and is absolutely clobbered by Rahul straight over the bowler’s head and into the top tier for SIX. Two more follow, then an uppish square drive for one, and a nudge on the legside for one more single.
6th over: India 53-1 (Rahul 13, Raina 30) Jordan returns to the attack and concedes a leg-bye when Rahul misreads his slower ball but scurries through for one anyway. Raina masters Jordan next ball though, judging and timing a high hook that soars into the crowd behind square leg for SIX. He does it again from a slightly fuller delivery which he meets on the front foot and flicks into the same part of the stand. SIX more.
“Hang on a minute,” roars Guy Hornsby. “Re: Niggen Nuggehali’s email (over 3), I’m not sure England fans have a lack of enthusiasm for ‘pyjama’ cricket. Our ire is based on its financial supremacy and often veneer-like bombast, as if it’s now the primacy of formats, binning the majesty and history of the long form of the game. We follow England wherever they go, ready for the usual extremes of glorious victory or bleak defeat, whatever the series. The love for the team is undimmed, but our suspicion and issue with T20 centres on the money, corruption and upstart nature, and its skewing of this beautiful game, not our knackered on-field heroes. Viva Morgan, viva Rooty, viva Tymal!” I don’t really see why they should be counterposed all the time myself. T20 has had positive effects on other forms of the game too – the 50-over game seems refreshed – as well as the negative ones listed. Viva sleepy Thursday afternoons at Colchester AND T20 dazzlers in Delhi.
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5th over: India 39-1 (Rahul 13, Raina 17 Stokes replaces Mills and his first ball is mistimed high and wide on the offside by Raina, but it lands safely and brings two runs. His second ball is similar, but mistimed on the legside. There’s a sense someone could have dashed in and caught this if it had been picked up quicker by either Jordan or Moeen – Stokes’s teapot-pose and facial expression suggest so. A single and a wide down legside follow before Stokes deceives Raina brilliantly with a short slower ball that completely outfoxed the left-hander’s attempt to pull. But Raina’s comeback is brilliant, a deliciously timed square cut for four. Another wide completes the scoring in another encouraging over for India.
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4th over: India 29-1 (Rahul 12, Raina 10) India cut loose. Plunkett comes into the attack and his first ball – pitched up – is flicked beautifully to the square leg boundary for four by Rahul. The next one is similarly pitched and similarly punished, driven gloriously through the air to long-off for four more. A shorter, smarter ball brings a hurried pull for one from Raina. A couple more singles complete a productive over for India.
3rd over: India 17-1 (Rahul 2, Raina 9) Raina tries to chip Mills over mid-off but can’t get hold of a pacy accurate delivery and it bounces once before reaching the fielder. The bowler’s second legside wide of the match follows. Mills is mostly on top of the batsmen though and he beats Raina for pace when the batsman steps back and tries to carve a legside ball through the offside. A scurried single is followed by a short bouncer that Rahul hooks and misses at. Another good over is undone at its end by a magnificently driven and timed offside SIX from Raina, meeting a full delivery and sending it over the ropes.
“It’s ironic that England has such a strong limited overs side, given the relative lack of enthusiasm among England supporters for pyjama cricket,” writes Niggen Nuggehali. “Perhaps this will change once England begin winning more games. Or do you think the tail can’t wag the dog?” Of course, to continue riffing on our 25-30 years ago theme, the last time England had a consistently better limited-overs side than their Test one was the late 80s/early 90s, but it didn’t, and hasn’t, stopped that era being seen as one of decline and doldrums.
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2nd over: India 8-1 (Rahul 1, Raina 2) The booming PA system – which makes Wembley’s sound like whispering Bob Harris – cranks up the exhortations of support for the home team as Jordan opens up from the other end. And gets a breakthrough straight away, hitting the stumps to run out Kohli after a half-hearted lbw appeal prompted the India captain to attempt a daft run for a leg-bye. It’s been a slightly underwhelming series for Kohli. Raina comes in next and is off the mark with a cover drive for one. Jordan keeps it tight – what an asset he is in this form of the game – and India can’t puncture the in-field until Raina dabs a shorter wider ball outside off-stump down to deep point but it only brings a single. A fine over.
Wicket! Kohli run out 2, India 4-1
Reckless stuff from the India captain – he scuttles out of his crease looking for a single after being rapped on the pad but Jordan’s on it swiftly and throws the stumps down. Fine start for England.
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1st over: India 4-0 (Kohli 2, Rahul 1) Tymal Mills, who’s been a thoroughly welcome addition to England’s squad in this series, opens up. India open with Kohli and Rahul, both of whom earn IPL big bucks in this stadium. The pitch looks cracked yet kind of smooth, like so many of us, and Mills, round the wicket, finds some bounce out of it to keep Kohli on the back foot. A legside wide gets India off the mark but other than that it’s tight and accurate stuff, just slightly back of a length and difficult to get hold of, and there are only four runs from it.
Out come the umpires, Anil Chaudhary and Nitin Menon. Incidentally, the withdrawn Shamshuddin is now listed as the TV umpire. And they’re going through the national anthems, something I’ll never get used to in cricket. Just get on with the game.
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First email: step forward Julien Allen. “Please don’t say ‘ask your grandad’ about Shakoor Rana. I’m 45 and remember it like it was yesterday!” A mere exaggerated sarcastic – not to say melancholy – riff about the passing of time Julien. All reflections on the joys and mediocrities of 80s cricket are welcome here.
Team news
For England, we have pace for spin, with Liam Plunkett returning in place of Liam Dawson. And India give a debut to much-heralded teenage wicketkeeper-batsman Risabh Pant, whose strike rate in four-day cricket this season was 107.28. He comes in at the top of the order for Manish Pandey, and is the youngest player to feature in a T20 international for India. Dhoni has the gloves today though, of course.
India: Pant, Rahul, Kohli, Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Pandya, Mishra, Bumrah, Nehra, Chahal
England: Roy, Billings, Root, Morgan, Stokes, Buttler, Ali, Jordan, Plunkett, Mills, Rashid.
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England win the toss and bowl first
Eoin Morgan calls it right and India bat first for the third time in the series. “Wicket looks reasonable,” says the England captain. “We need a complete performance this time,” he adds.
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Nonetheless, as we were riffing – briefly – on the mid-to-late-80s back in the preamble, here’s a fine read from Andy Bull in this week’s The Spin on the Somerset saga of 1986, harking back to a barely imaginable age in which county cricket club politics made the news pages, as well as the sport ones. And if that doesn’t get you in the mood for this hyper-modern T20 decider, nothing will:
News! Scratch all that – umpire Shamshuddin has stood down due to illness. Which takes some of the sting out of proceedings, or perhaps not. Get well soon anyway.
Preamble
Afternoon/evening everyone. Well, after the all-you-can-hit run buffets that were the three ODIs, this Twenty20 series has been agreeably shaped by the bowlers, giving us a chance to admire the death-overs arts of the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Chris Jordan. The second match in particular demonstrated that low-scoring is no impediment to excitment and tension in T20, particularly if it comes laced with umpiring TALKING POINTS, notably the reprieves of Virat Kohli and the dismissal of Joe Root. Mercifully, Root has been playing it all down, in best diplomatic ‘ah-well-we-all-make-mistakes’ mode. The Shakoor Rana affair this ain’t (ask your grandad).
The umpire at the centre of it all, Chettithody Shamshuddin, stands again today, in a match that is unlikely to follow the patterns of the previous two. The pitch at the M Chinnaswamy stadium is a proper shirtfront, by all accounts, a slogger’s paradise, which threatens a busy old evening in the field for England’s players whose long two-pronged Asian tour finally ends today. How different the world was was back when it all started, at the beginning of October, with that dramatic 50-over win against Bangladesh. England have learned a lot about themselves, in all forms of the game, since then, not all of it heartening. But they’ve competed very well in this T20 series and Bengaluru should see a suitably rousing end to the tour.
Play starts 1.30pm GMT, 7pm local time.
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