Man of the Match today: The Indian fast bowler was awarded the Man of the Match for his outstanding spell tonight.
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During the fifth T20I of the ongoing England’s tour of India in Ahmedabad, India beat England by 36 runs to clinch the five-match series 3-2.
Chasing a mammoth 225-run target, England were reduced to 188/8 in 20 overs despite a dangerous 130-run partnership for the second wicket between vice-captain Jos Buttler (52) and batsman Dawid Malan (68).
It was Buttler’s priced scalp which had initiated a batting collapse as a mounting required run rate had left little options for the visitors. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been incredible on international comeback in this series, picked bowling figures of 4-0-15-2 in a high-scoring clash. However, Shardul Thakur who was the pick of the bowlers with bowling figures of 4-0-45-3.
Man of the Match today
After England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and invited India in to bat, the home team posted 224/2 in 20 overs on the back of individual half-centuries from captain Virat Kohli (80*) and vice-captain Rohit Sharma (64).
Opening the batting together for the first-time ever at the highest level, India’s senior duo had put together a 94-run opening partnership. The Indian innings was also bolstered by pivotal innings from all-rounder Hardik Pandya (39*) and batsman Suryakumar Yadav (32).
Setting a praiseworthy precedent, the Man of the Match was awarded to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a high-scoring match. It is worth mentioning that the right-arm bowler bowled a total of 17 dot balls tonight to not give the opposition batsmen any chance of scoring boundaries.
2/15 in 4 overs in a chase of 225 is incredible stuff. Absolutely top stuff . #INDvENG https://t.co/ggpTdO5eeQ
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) March 20, 2021
“Always good to be back. Always good to contribute to the team’s win. All good body wise. Was confident because I played the domestic matches. When you get a wicket in the first over with the in-swingers, always gives you joy and confidence,” Bhuvneshwar told Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.
