The Indian batting lineup suffered a catastrophic collapse in the third T20 International against England at Nottingham, folding for a mere 76 runs to hand the hosts a monumental 125-run victory. With this record-breaking win, England has firmly established a 2-0 cushion in the five-match series.
Opting to bat first, England set a daunting target by plundering 201/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Explosive opener Phil Salt spearheaded the assault with a blistering 70 off just 44 deliveries, smashing seven boundaries and three towering sixes. Skipper Jos Buttler contributed a crucial 36 before Sam Curran provided a late-innings flourish with an unbeaten 41-run cameo. India’s Prince Yadav and Harshit Rana managed to pick up two wickets apiece but could do little to stem the flow of runs.
The run chase turned into an absolute nightmare for the visitors as they completely crumbled against a lethal English bowling attack. India’s top order had no answers for Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer, with the entire team getting bundled out in just the 12th over.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ishan Kishan top-scored with a meager 13 runs each, while Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel managed 10 runs apiece. Tongue was the pick of the bowlers, tearing through the batting line with phenomenal figures of 4/28, while Archer provided sensational support to clean up the rest with 3/29.
The heavy defeat marks India’s biggest-ever loss by runs in T20 International history, while their abysmal score of 76 stands as their second-lowest team total in the format.
