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India aims to continue their winning streak against England in the third T20I on January 28 in Rajkot. Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy excelled in the first match, while Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 72 secured the second win.
India and England will play the third T20I on Tuesday. (PC: Sportzpics)
India will aim to keep their winning momentum alive when they take on England in the third T20I on Tuesday, January 28 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
The hosts kicked off the series on a promising note with a seven-wicket victory in the opening contest at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Chasing a 133-run target, India claimed a win with 43 balls to spare.
Abhishek Sharma played a fine knock of 79 to guide India to a resounding victory. Varun Chakravarthy was adjudged Player of the Match for his sensational figures of 3/23 in four overs.
India continued the charge and clinched a thrilling last-over win in the next T20I played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Batting first, England had posted 165 runs at the loss of nine wickets. During the run chase, Tilak Varma produced a match-winning, unbeaten knock of 72 off 55 balls. Thanks to Varma’s nerves of steel to hit a boundary in the last over, India won with four balls to spare.
Varma also became the first player (full member nations) to hit 300-plus runs in T20I cricket without being dismissed. In his last four T20I matches, he managed to record scores of unbeaten 107 and 120 (not out) against South Africa, 19 (not out) and 72 (not out) against England.
Varma’s total of 318 runs are also the most between two dismissals in T20I cricket by any player. Varma broke New Zealand batter Mark Chapman’s previous record of 271 runs. Chapman had scored 65 (not out), 16 (not out), 71 (not out), 104 (not out) and 15.
The penultimate T20I of the series will be played on January 31 in Pune. The series will end on February 2, with the final T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Following the conclusion of the ODIs, the two teams will be involved in a three-match ODI series starting on February 6 in Nagpur.
Rajkot Weather Forecast:
The weather in Rajkot will likely be hot and mostly clear on Tuesday, January 28. There is no chance of precipitation on the matchday. The temperatures are predicted to range between 33 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius.
England will be the happier side to note that rain is unlikely to play spoilsport in the match as they aim to get back into the series.
