India vs England 3rd ODI Man of the Match: The Indian wicket-keeper batter was declared the Player of the Match today.
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During the third ODI of India’s tour of England in Manchester, India beat England by 5 wickets to register a 2-1 series victory. The development means that India have extended their bilateral series lead against England to 11-7.
Asked to bat first by his counterpart Rohit Sharma (17), England captain Jos Buttler’s 22nd ODI half-century remained the highlight of an otherwise below par innings. Had it not been for Buttler scoring 60 (80) with the help of three fours and two sixes, England might have not even scored 259/10 in 45.5 overs.
A maiden ODI four-wicket haul enabled all-rounder Hardik Pandya to pick bowling figures of 7-3-24-4 to be the pick of the Indian bowlers today. Pandya, who dismissed the likes of Jason Roy (41), Ben Stokes (27), Liam Livingstone (27) and Buttler, thrived on the back of bowling short balls relentlessly at Old Trafford on Sunday.
India vs England 3rd ODI Man of the Match
A second consecutive top-order collapse in a run-chase witnessed India getting reduced to 72/4 in the 17th over. However, it was a 115-ball 133-run fifth-wicket partnership between wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant and Pandya which turned the tables for the visitors.
A near-flawless sixth ODI half-century saw Pandya dominating the partnership. With Pant surprisingly and maturely looking to take his time, Pandya was one hitting boundaries frequently to end up with 71 (55) at a strike rate of 129.09 comprising of 10 fours.
Pant, on the other hand, registered a maiden ODI century scoring 125* (113) with the help of 16 fours and two sixes. Pant, who completed a 71-ball half-century, changed gears soon after to take only 25 more deliveries to reach the three-figure mark. As a result, the 24-year old player was declared the Player of the Match for the first time in his ODI career.
“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. When a team is under pressure and you bat like that, that’s what you aspire to do. I enjoy playing in England and will do whatever I can do to keep enjoying my cricket,” Pant told Sky Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.
