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Suryakumar yadav-led Team India went down against the Three Lions in the third T20I of the five-match series at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 28. After winning the toss and electing to field first, the hosts restricted England to 171 in their 20 overs, with Varun Chakravarthy picking a five-wicket haul. Coming out to bat in the second innings, they fell like pack of cards as they lost the third T20I by 26 runs.
However, all-rounder Hardik Pandya showed some class, top scoring with his 35-ball 40, but Adil Rashid’s brilliance in the middle overs, derailed India’s batting line-up, restricting them to 145/9 in their 20 overs quota. Seeing this, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen could not hold back his emotions and questioned India’s batting lineup.
I didn't like the batting order: Kevin Pietersen expresses discontent on India’s batting failure in Rajkot T20I
Speaking after the completion of the third T20I against England, former England cricketer pointed out the batting flaws in the Indian lineup. Speaking on Star Sports, Pietersen said, "I didn't like the batting order either. I'm someone who believes your best batters should bat at the top of the order.”
“I was in South Africa last week, and the Durban Super Giants were having an absolute shocker of a tournament. But Quinton de Kock was batting at 3 or 4, and Heinrich Klaasen was batting at 6 or 7. I approached these guys and asked, 'Why are you doing this?' You've seen the same thing happen here this evening. A guy like Dhruv Jurel, who is a very good and accomplished batter, is being dropped down the order because of the left-hander, right-hander strategy. Hardik is struggling a little, and there wasn't that much pressure on these batters to come out and score at 10 runs per over,” Kevin Pietersen added.
Notably, while chasing a target of 172 in Rajkot, India lost Tilak Varma on the last ball of the eighth over. Rather than sending Dhruv Jurel, who has been an accomplished batter, they opted to send Washington Sundar, who managed only six runs off 15 balls. Thereafter, the Indian team management sent out Axar Patel with Jurel waiting for his turn. However, after minutes of wait, Jurel finally came out to bat when only 16 balls were remaining and was dismissed scoring two runs off four deliveries.
With the series now standing 2-1 in favour of the hosts, the two teams will now travel to Pune for the fourth T20I, set to be played on Thursday, January 30 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Although India will be looking to to seal the series, Jos Buttler-led England will aim to level it, taking the series into the decider, set to be layed on Sunday, February 2 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.