India blow away Buttler's England again to claim series win

By Sports Desk July 09, 2022

Jos Buttler succumbed to defeat in his first series as England's full-time T20I captain as India claimed a comfortable 49-run win in the second game at Edgbaston.

India were routine winners in the series opener at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday and their score of 170-8 on Saturday proved far too much for England, whose star-studded batting line-up wilted to 121 all out.

The tourists played with the aggression of a team sensing their chance to claim an unassailable lead in the three-match series, captain Rohit Sharma (31) and Rishabh Pant (26) putting on 49 in under five overs for the opening wicket.

Rohit was removed by 34-year-old debutant Richard Gleeson as Buttler took a stunning diving catch, and the Lancashire bowler then claimed a memorable double-wicket maiden by dismissing Virat Kohli and Pant in successive deliveries.

Hardik Pandya denied Gleeson a hat-trick but he was one of four batters to fall to the excellent Chris Jordan, Hardik departing in the subsequent delivery after Jordan had removed Suryakumar Yadav in a superb 11th over.

India were wobbling on 89-5 at that stage but Ravindra Jadeja counter-attacked with an unbeaten 46 in 29 deliveries to give them something to defend.

They took the task of doing so immediately, Jason Roy edging Bhuvneshwar Kumar behind for a first-ball duck before Buttler was given out to the same bowler on review for just four.

Liam Livingstone (15) also departed cheaply at the hands of Jasprit Bumrah, England continuing to lose wickets in an innings that lacked impetus until Moeen Ali (35 off 21) offered some.

His exit, and those of Jordan and Gleeson, left David Willey (33 not out) protecting the final wicket, which fell when Harshal Patel uprooted Matt Parkinson's stumps.

Bhuvi gets Buttler (again), and then some

Bhuvneshwar dismissed Buttler for a duck in the first game at Southampton and he proved a thorn in the dangerous skipper's side again, the seamer the pick of the bowlers as his 3-15 turned the match firmly in India's favour.

Rohit's streak continues

Rohit has now captained India's T20I side to victory in 14 successive matches. His run of 13 was already a record and with India claiming back-to-back emphatic victories over one of the world's best white-ball sides, they look in excellent shape for the T20 World Cup later in the year.

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    Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.

    The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.

    After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.

    Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*). 

    "It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.

    "When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"

    Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.

    "Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."

    During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.

    Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.

    "I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.

    "The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.

    "It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."

  • Buttler delighted England have 'winning habit back' despite fifth-match washout Buttler delighted England have 'winning habit back' despite fifth-match washout

    Jos Buttler is pleased to have England's "winning habit back" after securing a 3-1 T20I series win over West Indies, with the final match abandoned due to rain.

    England had opted to bowl and the hosts reached 44-0 through Evin Lewis (29) and Shai Hope (14) after five overs before the downpour began in St Lucia.

    Despite ground staff's attempts to clear the surface, the match was abandoned, with England claiming the win, having lost the ODI leg of the tour 2-1.

    The tourists had won the first three T20Is, with the West Indies earning a consolation on Saturday in a high-scoring clash. Despite not finishing their final white-ball assignment of 2024, Buttler was delighted with the work his side have done this week.

    "We're delighted with the series win. We've played some brilliant cricket," Buttler said.

    "I've been happy with how we've started games, setting the tone with the powerplay wickets, as we've seen from Saqib being named player of the series. We've had lots of different guys chipping in at various times, so I'm really pleased for everybody.

    "The fast-bowling department is looking good, and they all bring something different with their variety, so it's exciting for English cricket to have that.

    "I enjoyed it [being captain without keeping], I felt like I had a bit more time, and it was nice to be out there running around and closer to the bowlers. I got everything I wanted to out of doing that.

    "It's great to have the winning habit back."

    West Indies struggled to carry over their ODI form into the T20I series but were looking to restore some pride in the final match, having impressed in the fourth. Captain Rovman Powell is now hoping they can find some consistency.

    "It's been a tough series and credit Jos Buttler and his team, who came to these conditions and dominated. Having said that, we played good cricket in patches but not in long enough periods," he said.

    "I think we always, as a batting group, use a template, but that didn't work in our first few games. As a team, we need to assess faster. It took us two or three games. The bowling group needs to sharpen up in a few areas.

    "It's always a problem with the Caribbean cricketers, we always wander off when we are not playing for West Indies. It's a treadmill, and we don't spend time together. We have to keep our communication with players and ensure they are ready to go."

  • England 'in a strong place as a team', says Buttler after series-clinching West Indies win England 'in a strong place as a team', says Buttler after series-clinching West Indies win

    Jos Buttler believes England are in a "strong place" after they edged past West Indies in St. Lucia, beating them by three wickets to claim a series-winning victory. 

    The tourists took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, but had to rely heavily on luck during their 146-run chase, with Liam Livingstone dropped three times on the way to 39.

    But it was England's bowlers who initially did the damage, with Saqib Mahmood putting in a player-of-the-match performance to finish with figures of 3-17, with his three wickets coming in the powerplay, in which the West Indies were skittled to 37-5.

    Mahmood's three wickets came in the powerplay, in which the West Indies were skittled to 37-5. Mahmood was clearly delighted with the bowling performance after the match.

    Captain Rovman Powell (54) helped the hosts recover, but they were ultimately unable to post a winning score and finished on 145-8.

    It was not an easy ride for England, though, having initially slipped to 37-3 in their own powerplay, before Sam Curran knocked 41 off 26 balls to dig his side out of a hole.

    It was left to Livingstone to finish the job, having been dropped twice by Nicholas Pooran on six and eight and again by Shimron Hetmyer on 21.

    But England squeaked over the line with just four balls remaining, consolidating their lead in the series with just two matches remaining.

    "[It was] a real collective effort to win the series, which is really pleasing. I've been so impressed with how we've set the tone in the powerplays in all three games so far," said captain Buttler.

    "We're in a really strong place as a team. We've got really good competition for places too, when you consider the players who aren't here."

    Mahmood's fast start was key to England's success on Thursday, and he was delighted with his personal performance after the match. 

    "As a bowling unit we've always had the mindset of wanting to take early wickets," he said.

    "We know their batting line-up is stacked all the way down, but we haven't backed down, and we have taken powerplay wickets in every game so far.

    "I feel really free in this team now. It feels like my spot, and it feels like a really great chance to express myself out there."

    West Indies captain Rovman Powell, meanwhile, was clear where his side need to tighten up.

    "It's a bit disappointing, we keep losing wickets in the powerplay and in clusters. We need to be our natural selves," he said.

    "We know we are stroke players and come out aggressively but that little element of being smart was missing."

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