Our report from Ahmedabad
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“The carry that we saw was a bit of a surprise to us,” says Eoin Morgan. “The first half of our bowling was exceptional. But when there’s one short side of the wicket, you don’t know what a good score is.” If you have a game-changer like Buttler, do you have a word with him before he goes out to bat? “There’s no need. He’s been in incredible form, and he’s been around for so long – he’s a great leader in our group.”
What about the speech Buttler seemed to be making as he presented Morgan with his 100th cap? “Yeah, it nearly brought me to tears to be honest. He’s a great friend of mine, our families are close, and his words really did warm my heart.” So not only can Buttler make batting look easy on a sticky wicket: he can also make an iceman melt.
Thanks for reading, the match report will be along shortly, and the OBO will be back at lunchtime on Thursday to see if England can wrap up the series.
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Is the toss almost becoming too important? As all three games have finished in easy wins for the side batting second, Harsha Bhogle puts this question to Virat Kohli. “It is!” But... “The England bowlers were brilliant with the new ball.” He doesn’t criticise his batsmen, although he’s not happy with the fielding. “I don’t think our body language was acceptable in the field, we didn’t have the intensity.”
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Jos Buttler has now opened in 17 T20 internationals and made 666 runs. His average is 51, his strike rate 153 and he has seven fifties. Stunning stuff. His average lower down, where there is less time to play with, is 23, with a strike rate of 133. Frankly soporific.
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Mark Wood is giving an interview. He met those two impostors today, taking three wickets early on and getting hammered by Kohli later. And being Wood, he smiled at both. “The two wickets I’ve played on have had some bounce and I enjoyed that,” he says. “My role is to bowl fast and bang it in on a length.” He’s not saying a great deal but he says it so nicely in that Geordie accent of his. He’ll end up either becoming a commentator or doing the voice-over on a reality show.
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On this strange empty stage, India put on a one-man show. Kohli was magnifique, mais il n’était pas le jeu, because you need more than one batsman to fire. He made 77 off 46 balls, while his team-mates managed 70 off 74. Kohli’s one strategic mistake was to keep KL Rahul in the team when Rohit was due back and Ishan Kishan had done so well on Sunday. Rahul duly flopped, as did the other two, and India never fully recovered from that awful start.
England hunted in a pack, as in the first game, with Mark Wood leading the way and Jofra Archer only just behind him. Eoin Morgan, playing his 100th T20 international, wasn’t needed with the bat as Jos Buttler more than matched Kohli’s firework display, but he was immense in the field, as so often. He now has the thing that eluded Joe Root last month, a 2-1 lead, which, with two to play, is (a) very nice for England and (b) just as it should be from the dramatic point of view.
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England win with 10 balls to spare
Mid-19th over: England 158-2 (Buttler 83, Bairstow 40) Bairstow swats a couple of fours, and that’s that. England win by eight wickets, for the second time in the series. It was a tale of two masterclasses, by Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler, but Kohli took time to get going, as wickets fell all around him, whereas Buttler took charge from the start.
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18th over: England 150-2 (Buttler 83, Bairstow 32) Bairstow, who seems to have recovered from that blow to the hand, plays a ramp for four off Kumar. He’s been good, adding 69 with Buttler. England need seven from two overs. If the crowd had been allowed in, they’d be trickling out by now.
17th over: England 141-2 (Buttler 82, Bairstow 24) That club of top-edgers has another member – Bairstow, who nicks Thakur for four, then does it again, gives a chance to Chahal at third man, and is dropped. The lights at this ground are not in banks but one long circle, like a ruff, and maybe they get in the fielders’ eyes. This is now Buttler’s highest score in T20 internationals, beating the 77 not out he made against Australia in September. His top five scores have come at the top of the order. As Broad says, the debate is over.
16th over: England 132-2 (Buttler 81, Bairstow 16) Washington Sundar, undeterred by that six, goes back to keeping it tight, but Buttler finds a way by playing that dab for two again, switching from the bludgeon to the rapier. England need 25 off 24 balls.
15th over: England 127-2 (Buttler 78, Bairstow 14) Aha! Proof that Buttler and Kohli are in league. Buttler reverse-sweeps Chahal yet again, hard and low, and he’s dropped by Kohli, diving to his right at backward point. Mate, you’ve just dropped the third T20i.
“I think,” says Colum Fordham, “Buttler and Kohli are worthy candidates for the Pokemon GO Ultra League. They bat in a fantasy world that mere mortals only dream of.”
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14th over: England 120-2 (Buttler 73, Bairstow 12) Back comes Sundar, as Kohli tacitly admits that it was a Blundar to take him off. He tucks the batsmen up, but Bairstow gets a sweep away for four and then Buttler golf-swings for six. That’s 150 up for the Buttler-Kohli coalition, off 89 balls. They’ve been majestic.
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13th over: England 107-2 (Buttler 66, Bairstow 6) Desperate to get rid of Buttler, Kohli brings back Bhuvi Kumar. He can’t oblige, but he does restore order, conceding just five. Bairstow is getting some treatment on a bruised hand after a shy at the stumps caught him as he dived in. England need 50 off seven overs, which should be a walk in the park, but you never know.
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12th over: England 102-2 (Buttler 63, Bairstow 4) Kohli takes Sundar off – why? – and brings back Chahal. It’s almost as if he’s trying to get Buttler going again. Duly pumped up, Buttler reverse-sweeps for four. Bairstow dabs into the on side and helps himself to a cheeky two. Buttler admires this so much, he does it himself. He and Kohli, combined, now have 140 runs this evening off 83 balls. They’re in a league of their own. What do you call the level above Premier?
11th over: England 92-2 (Buttler 57, Bairstow 1) Bairstow ducks a bouncer from Pandya, which flies away for four byes. This red-soil surface has been all things to all bowlers, and one of those things is a trampoline. Buttler is getting ’em in singles at the moment, which isn’t a problem, yet, as England need 65 off nine overs.
10th over: England 83-2 (Buttler 53, Bairstow 0) Sundar greets Jonny Bairstow with a cartoon off-break, doing far too much. That’s the halfway stage, and England have reached 83 four overs earlier than India did. But if Buttler gets out, this gets interesting.
Wicket! Malan st Pant b Sundar 18 (England 81-2)
Malan dances down the pitch to Sundar, who sees him coming, drops short and steers an off-break past his flailing bat. That’s well bowled, and it gives India a glimmer of hope.
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9th over: England 78-1 (Buttler 50, Malan 17) Pandya keeps it tight too, but Buttler swishes for a single to reach fifty off only 26 balls. That’s a fabulous knock which deserves better than the canned applause laid on by the broadcasters. Malan then joins the club of people who have top-edged a six today – president, V Kohli.
8th over: England 68-1 (Buttler 48, Malan 9) Kohli turns to his fifth bowler, the off-spinner Washington Sundar, who manages to keep Buttler quiet. Don’t tell Brian Withington, but WinViz is giving England a 98pc chance here.
7th over: England 64-1 (Buttler 46, Malan 7) Hardik Pandya comes on and concedes seven, which feels like a minor triumph after 42 off the previous three overs. At this stage India were 30 for 3 – but they had a gem of an innings to come.
6th over: England 57-1 (Buttler 43, Malan 4) Remember the reverse sweep off Chahal that did for Roy? Buttler tries it too, and it goes over the infield for four, fair and square. Later in the over, facing the right way round, he pulls for four. He has four fours and three sixes already. The commentators have been discussing where he should go in the order, but for Broad “there’s no debate”. At this rate, Malan could bat through the whole innings and make 14 not out. As the PowerPlay ends, England are on top – but their innings, like India’s, has been a one-man show. The bowlers have one job: get Buttler.
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5th over: England 46-1 (Buttler 34, Malan 2) Dawid Malan is nudging singles, while Buttler, facing Thakur, continues to pepper the boundary: a glance for four, a pull for four more as Ishan Kishan blots his copybook with a half-hearted dive. And then Buttler swats a six! Not sure he middled that, but, with 34 off 14 balls, he is starting the way Kohli finished.
“Computer says bollocks,” writes Brian Withington. picking up on the WinViz prediction from the 20th over. “Does the hapless WinViz also moonlight as England’s player rotation algorithm?” Ha.
4th over: England 30-1 (Buttler 20, Malan 1) Kohli changed tack, bringing on the leg-spin of Chahal. At first it didn’t work as Buttler attacked straight away, dancing down and lofting him for six. But when Roy tried to be just as assertive to his first ball from Chahal, the wicket came. Buttler, unruffled, adds another six, before Chahal bowls a wonder-ball that just misses his off stump. It’s all happening.
Wicket! Roy c Rohit b Chahal 9 (England 23-1)
The breakthrough! Roy plays a reverse sweep, but it’s straight to backward point, where Rohit dives forward to take a fine catch.
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3rd over: England 16-0 (Roy 9, Buttler 7) Roy decides the answer is narrow the angle, so he gives Kumar the charge and smacks it straight past him for four. Then he tries the ramp and gets four as it loops off the edge. “Bhuvi’s swinging it lovely, isn’t he,” says Stuart Broad.
2nd over: England 7-0 (Roy 1, Buttler 6) England opened with spin and pace, whereas India are going for swing. That’s all right by Buttler, who follows the movement and cuts Shardul Thakur for two, but it doesn’t suit Jason Roy, who can’t time the ball. He survives an LBW appeal, which leads to a poor review by Kohli.
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1st over: England 4-0 (Roy 1, Buttler 3) Kohli hasn’t taken the field yet, but he has shown the way. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, opening the bowling, is right on the money, baffling Roy with his swing. Jos Buttler, who got a golden duck on Sunday, avoids one this time with a silky push into the covers for three. Kohli comes on now, looking fine: maybe he was just a bit stunned by his own strokeplay.
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Well, that was extraordinary. England were all over India after 15 overs, with only 87 on the board, five wickets down, and Kohli on 28 off 29 balls. And then Kohli bent the game to his will, adding another 49 off only 17 balls, mixing audacity with classicism. Hardik Pandya chipped in and the partnership raced to 70 off 5.3 overs. According to WinViz, England are still favourites, with a 61pc chance of going 2-1 up. I’m not so sure. The pitch is tricky, and there was playing-and-missing throughout India’s innings. See you in a few minutes for England’s reply.
India finish on 156
20th over: India 156-6 (Kohli 77, Pandya c Archer b Jordan 17) Jordan has the dubious honour of bowling the last over. He digs it in, and Pandya flat-bats for six. He goes wide of off, and Kohli drives for four. He bowls the last ball, and Pandya skies it to Jofra Archer, who takes a fabulous catch, running back from mid-off.
19th over: India 142-5 (Kohli 70, Pandya 10) Now it’s Archer’s last over, and Pandya says to himself, more of the same. He too upper-cuts for six, prompting Morgan to have a conference with Archer. The upshot is a slowish bouncer, which Pandya misses; a fuller one that goes for a bye; and a ball that shaves the off stump as Kohli tries to play it from somewhere near cover. That’s three misses in a row, but Kohli bounces back with an upper cut for four. He has turned a collapse into a contest.
18th over: India 131-5 (Kohli 66, Pandya 4) Wood, back for his final over, manages a dot ball as he hits the splice of Pandya’s bat. But then there’s a single, and Kohli is scenting blood now. He steps outside off and pulls for six. That was a regal as the early drive that went for none. When Wood goes full, Kohli chips for six more with the greatest of ease. When Wood switches to length, Kohli upper-cuts for four. In the end, wood gets the ball past the bat as Kohli tries to be too cute with a bouncer. But that is a magnificent over for India – 17 from it – and a sobering one for Wood, who was so testing early on. He finishes with 3 for 31.
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17th over: India 114-5 (Kohli 50, Pandya 3) Jordan is back in his role as England’s death specialist. He starts well, but then Kohli pulls out the slog-flick again and it goes for six! That was not a top edge. Pandya tries an upper cut that becomes an upper slice, but he gets away with it as it drops just short of Rashid at third man. And then Kohli plays the shot of the day – a wrist, top-spin forehand bisecting the two men in the deep at midwicket – to reach a fine fifty. With 22 off his last eight balls, he’s accelerated just when he needed to.
16th over: India 100-5 (Kohli 39, Pandya 1) Morgan brings back Archer, and Kohli, seeing the need to find top gear, steps away to swat him over mid-off for four. And then he top-edges for six! That was just as bad a shot as the one that did for Kishan, but instead of ending up in Buttler’s gloves it sailed into the non-existent crowd. Archer, unperturbed, gets a bouncer past Pandya’s attempted dab. “The pitch,” says Stuart Broad, “looks really tough.”
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15th over: India 87-5 (Kohli 28, Pandya 0) Not content with the wicket, Wood beats the new batsman, Hardik Pandya, twice. He has the outstanding figures of 3-0-14-3. And now, with five overs left, it’s nearly all down to Kohli, who’s been good but not dominant – his 28 has come off 29 balls.
Wicket! Iyer c Malan b Wood 9 (India 86-5)
Iyer plays games with Wood, moving outside off, then back, before hitting an upper cut that goes straight to Dawid Malan at deep backward point. And Mark Wood has 3 for 13.
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14th over: India 83-4 (Kohli 26, Iyer 7) Kohli is itching to tuck into Sam Curran, who is equally determined not to play the role of the hotel buffet. A big shot on the off side brings two, as it finds the sweeper; a tennis shot to leg brings only one, as it’s not timed. The highlight of the over for India comes when Kohli misses a flick and picks up four leg byes.
13th over: India 74-4 (Kohli 22, Iyer 6) With Pant gone, Morgan brings back Rashid for his final over. He keeps it tight and finishes with a beauty of a leg-break, beating Iyer through the air and off the pitch, with drift and turn. That may get Yuzvendra Chahal licking his lips.
12th over: India 71-4 (Kohli 20, Iyer 5) Sam Curran had just come on. Pant played a nice drive, the batsmen took an easy two, and then Buttler fumbled the throw into the striker’s end. Kohli called for a third, but Pant had over-run so he had about 30 yards to make. Buttler threw the ball to Curran, who took off the bails with Pant, diving, not even close. A strange, unnecessary misjudgment, but it brings in the silky Shreyas Iyer, who greets his first ball with a classical cover-drive.
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Wicket! Pant run out 25 (India 64-4)
Just when Pant was getting going, he’s run out... by Kohli!
11th over: India 62-3 (Kohli 18, Pant 23) Jordan returns, and his early maiden is soon forgotten as Kohli plays an extraordinary shot that almost goes for six over midwicket. He may just have invented a stroke: the slog-flick.
10th over: India 55-3 (Kohli 14, Pant 20) India need a big over and Pant reckons the man to go after is Rashid. He sweeps his first ball, very fine, and then slog-drives his second over extra cover. That’s eight off the over already, but Rashid is calm and canny enough to concede only three singles thereafter. So at the halfway stage, India are going at less than a run a ball, but I wouldn’t write them off yet. They’ve got two gun players at the crease, and a long batting order to come, and (sorry Chris) England always have a collapse in their back pocket.
“Apologies if I’ve missed something in all England’s comings and goings,” says Smylers, “but wasn’t the whole point of Moeen Ali’s unavailability for the third and fourth Tests for him to have a break before this series? Did England sacrifice a chance of getting to the Word Championship final so that Moeen can be Eoin Morgan’s first-choice drinks carrier?”
9th over: India 44-3 (Kohli 13, Pant 10) Kohli, facing Stokes, plays a sumptuous cover drive, down the track and inside out. It’s the most regal thing you’ll see outside Buckingham Palace, but he gets no runs for it as Morgan makes a fine stop at extra cover.
8th over: India 38-3 (Kohli 11, Pant 7) Morgan removes Jordan, perhaps wanting him to savour his binary bowling figures (1-1-0-1). Back comes Rashid, and Kohli’s no longer in the mood to leave: he gives him the charge, first ball, and lofts him to long-off for four. Game on? Rashid responds well, bamboozling Pant with his googly, which slides past the outside edge.
7th over: India 30-3 (Kohli 5, Pant 5) Now Morgan does take Wood off and he may regret it as Ben Stokes gives Rishabh Pant a freebie, glanced off the hip for four. But soon Stokes comes to the party, angling a ball past Pant’s waft. Kohli may leave a few; Pant is unlikely to.
6th over: India 24-3 (Kohli 4, Pant 0) Jordan starts with a wicket-maiden as Kohli opts to leave a couple of balls, a nice mark of respect, and a sign that even a big ego can play the situation. So the PowerPlay ends with India in all sorts of trouble. Eoin Morgan, the Merlin of this England team, is giving a masterclass in managing an attack: both his changes have borne fruit straight away, and so did his decision not to make a change a Wood’s end.
Wicket! Kishan c Buttler b Jordan 4 (India 24-3)
Another one! On comes Chris Jordan, digging it in and Kishan’s pull flies straight up into the night sky. The difficult second T20 international.
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5th over: India 24-2 (Kishan 4, Kohli 4) Rohit’s downfall was actually more of a pull, played from down the track: Mike Atherton reckons Wood saw him coming and adjusted, which is some feat at 90mph. Before that there was another hint of a caught-and-bowled chance, but it might have taken Wood’s hand off as Rohit got hold of a straight drive. Wood has 2 for 10, but Kohli, in the groove since Sunday, starts with a glide for four.
“It’s not beyond India to collapse in their innings as well,” says Chris, in a visionary retort to my line from 13:29. “It is getting a bit boring to hear about possible England batting collapses game after game, the OBO will be read by a majority of England supporters, and this is the No.1 one day squad in the world, who win more than they collapse, they usually force the other side to do that!
“A touch more half full would be appreciated now and again, you do use the same script a touch!” You may be right. In my defence, m’lud, it was an attempt at humour, and comedy does rely on stereotypes.
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Wicket! Rohit c Archer b Wood 15 (India 20-2)
Redemption song! Archer, who missed Rohit earlier, makes no mistake as another dolly comes his way. He’s at short fine leg, and the shot was a clip off the pads that spooned up.
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4th over: India 16-1 (Rohit 11, Kishan 4) Rohit gets the first four of the evening – but it’s a jammy one, off the inside edge as Archer’s pace unsettles him. Ishan plays a much better shot for two, a solid punch down the ground. And Archer, who could have had three wickets by now, has 0 for 9 off his two overs.
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3rd over: India 8-1 (Rohit 6, Kishan 1) So Morgan makes an instant bowling change and it works as Wood takes up where he left off in the first match. The good news for the crowd, if there was one, would be that at least it gets Ishan Kishan in early. On Sunday, on debut, he was a man on a mission.
“Afternoon from Vienna!” says Julia. “Games behind closed doors are odd to begin with. Playing behind closed doors in a ground that holds over 100k must be something else entirely. Wondering what that feels like for both teams.” Yes – though Rahul may have been relieved.
Wicket! Rahul b Wood 0 (India 7-1)
Bowled ’im! KL Rahul is beaten all ends up by Wood’s nip-backer. Poor old Rahul walks off looking like a player who’s so out of form, he can hardly remember what form is.
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2nd over: India 6-0 (Rohit 5, Rahul 0) Archer bounces back with a fast leg-cutter that beats Rohit outside off. There’s a single and then Archer repeats the trick to KL Rahul, with extra bounce. That’s a superb start for Archer the bowler, doing his best to redeem Archer the fielder.
Missed chance!
Jofra Archer gets his first ball to sit up on Rohit, who chips it back – and Archer clean-misses it. The catch, like the delivery, was a sitter.
1st over: India 5-0 (Rohit 4, Rahul 0) Right away, Rashid finds lavish turn with his googly, but it’s short enough for Rohit to adjust and tuck it away for two. The next ball is close to a carbon copy. Have England blundered by leaving out Moeen?
The new ball is in the hands of Adil Rashid, as it was in the first game of the series. I suspect we have a world record here: never can a cricket match have been played in front of so many empty seats.
This is Eoin Morgan’s 100th T20 international. The last time an England captain reached a landmark like that – Joe Root, in Tests – he celebrated with a hundred. If Morgan is to follow suit, England will need to stage a top-order collapse. Which is not beyond them.
Teams: Rohit and Wood return
India bring back Rohit Sharma, the best batsman in the Test series, and leave out Yadav. England have Mark Wood fit again, so Tom Curran drops out. Neither captain seems to think it will turn all that much – still no Moeen, alas.
India 1 Rahul, 2 Rohit, 3 Kishan, 4 Kohli (capt), 5 Pant (wkt), 6 Iyer, 7 H Pandya, 8 Sundar, 9 Kumar, 10 Thakur, 11 Chahal.
England 1 Roy, 2 Buttler (wkt), 3 Malan, 4 Bairstow, 5 Morgan (capt), 6 Stokes, 7 S Curran, 8 Jordan, 9 Archer, 10 Rashid, 11 Wood.
Toss: England win and bowl
When he made those comments the other night, Morgan was bluffing.
Preamble: a must-win for England
Afternoon everyone and welcome to the third T20. This series is going so fast, it could almost be a Test match.
It’s been a tale of two chases. First England destroyed India with 27 balls to spare. Then India destroyed them right back, with half as many balls to spare (13), but twice as many points for style as Ishan Kishan dazzled on debut and Virat Kohli found his mojo. So the teams stand at 1-1, just as they did after the second Test. Which means that England have to win today – not mathematically, but psychologically.
If they lose, it will feel as if they’re on the slide again, history instantly repeating itself, and on the same stage at the brand-new Ahmedabad amphitheatre. The long walk up to the dressing room will be nothing to the mountain they’ll have to climb, needing to win both the last two games in the form of cricket that comes closest to being 50-50.
If anything, the scales are tipping towards India, because they’re at home, and fresh from a win, and Rohit Sharma is due back from his breather, and the pitch is expected to turn as the action moves along to the red part of the square. That said, there won’t be a crowd in (get well soon, Gujarat), and the last time Kohli played behind closed doors he seemed more rattled than most by the sound of silence.
It could be a vital toss. Eoin Morgan, the ace of chase, is steeling himself to set a target for once. “In the next game,” he said on Sunday, “because we are playing on red soil and not the black soil, there’s a chance it might take more spin, which probably lends itself to batting first as the wicket might get worse.” A chance it might! For an Irishman, he’s very good at British understatement.
Play starts at 1.30pm GMT. I’ll be back soon after 1 with the toss and the teams. In the meantime, here’s a good read from this morning’s edition of our weekly newsletter, The Spin: Tanya Aldred on the sound of the crowd.
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