England inflicted India’s heaviest defeat by runs in T20I history, beating them by 125 runs in the third match of the five-match series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Put in to bat first, England posted 201 for 7 in its 20 overs. Opener Phil Salt led the way with 70 off 44 balls, while Sam Curran finished unbeaten on 41 off 24 to push the total past 200. Jos Buttler contributed a rapid 36 off 21 balls before Prince Yadav bowled him with a yorker in the sixth over. Yadav also removed captain Harry Brook for 16, finishing with figures of 2 for 30 on just his second T20I appearance, while Harshit Rana picked up 2 for 40, including the wickets of Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton in consecutive balls.
Chasing 202, India never got going. Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer tore through the top order inside the powerplay, and the visitors slumped to 52 for 5 inside five overs before being bowled out for just 76 in 11.4 overs. Tongue finished with 4 for 28 and Archer took 3 for 29 to earn the player of the match award. Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hit two sixes in a 13-run knock off five balls before falling to a Buttler catch off a Tongue bouncer, and Ishan Kishan also managed 13 as only four Indian batters reached double figures.
The 76 all out is India’s second-lowest T20I total, behind only their 74 against Australia in Melbourne in 2008, and the 125-run margin surpasses their previous biggest defeat, an 80-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington in 2019.
The result gives England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after the opening match in Chester-le-Street was washed out. Brook praised his side’s execution after the win. “The communication and plans going into the second half were perfect,” he said. “We adapted well with the bat on a tricky surface, and to carry that into the bowling was awesome.”
India captain Shreyas Iyer did not hold back in his assessment of the defeat. “It was atrocious,” he said. “Losing by such a big margin isn’t acceptable. First things first, we have to accept this loss and go back to the drawing board.” He added, “Losing four in the powerplay didn’t create momentum, we lost it there. You can plan a lot, once you come into the ground you have to adapt, figure out lengths. Hard lengths helped, we didn’t execute.”
India, coached by Gautam Gambhir, must now win both remaining matches to salvage a series draw. The fourth T20I will be played in Bristol on Thursday, July 9.
