Finance
Rishabh Pant hit an unbeaten century as India defeated England by 5 wickets in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) to win the series 2-1. India were 72 for four at one point while chasing a target of 260 before Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya came to their rescue.
As India chased down the total with 47 balls to spare, the pair added 133 runs for the fifth wicket. Hardik was out for 71, while Pant remained unbeaten on 125, smashing his first ODI century.
Earlier, Hardik Pandya took four wickets and Yuzvendra Chahal took three as India bowled out England for 259 in the ongoing third ODI at Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
Mohammed Siraj struck twice in the same over to give India a brief lead over England before Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali took control. In the same over, Siraj had dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, putting England on the back foot.
Ravindra Jadeja ended Buttler and Moeen Ali’s crucial partnership by dismissing the latter on 34. Hardik Pandya dismissed England captain Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone in the 37th over before cameos from Craig Overton and David Willey took England past the 250-run mark.
Rishabh Pant gets the Player of the Match award
Pant gets the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten maiden ODI ton. “Hopefully I will remember my first ODI century for the rest of my life. But when I was in there, I was just focusing on one ball at a time. (Coming in at 25 for 2) When a team is under pressure and you bat like that, that’s what you aspire to do. (Quick end to the chase) I enjoy playing in England and will do whatever I can do to keep enjoying my cricket”, he says.
“The more cricket you play, the more experience you get. (Bowling) It was the best pitch to bat on, so credit to our bowlers for keeping them to 260. Not only this game, they have bowled well through the series. Not only this series either, they have been excellent all year.”
Hardik Pandya receives the Player of the Series award
Hardik gets the Player of the Series award for his match-winning performances for India. He says, “White ball is something very close to me.”
“I cherish my white-ball game. (England difficult in England) We all know England are such a good team. For us it was important to check ourselves out with our plans and the World Cup ahead. Was an ideal chance for us to step up and show what we have. (Keeping England to 259) It was important for me to come in and stop the runs and bowl as many dots. We took two wickets early but they recovered well and were cruising.”
“I love short balls. I don’t fancy people taking me on, it always gets me into the game. I don’t mind getting hit for six sixes as long as I take wickets. (Livingstone) We are good pals but at the end of the day that’s his game. He takes his chances on.”
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Craig Overton, David Willey, Brydon Carse, Reece Topley
