England recorded a crushing victory over India at Trent Bridge, handing their visitors the heaviest defeat by runs in T20 international history as they won the third game by 125 runs to move 2-0 ahead in the series.
Inserted after winning the toss, England posted 201-7 from their 20 overs on a surface that offered reward for positive batting. Phil Salt was the mainstay, finishing 70 off 44, supported by Jos Buttler’s brisk 36 off 21 and Sam Curran’s late cameo (44 not out off 24) which helped push the score past 200. Will Jacks struck a couple of big sixes in a late cameo, while Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton provided useful cameos earlier.
England’s innings had a hesitant start — Salt scored just 17 from his first 19 balls — but Buttler’s early onslaught accelerated the total, and despite Buttler being yorked by Prince Yadav and a couple of middle-order wickets, England recovered. Salt eventually fell late in the innings and both he and Jofra Archer were run out in the final over as England finished strongly.
India’s chase quickly became a disaster. Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, making just his second international appearance, blasted two huge sixes and looked promising before swiping a Jofra Archer bouncer to a caught-and-bowled chance. Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma offered brief resistance, but India’s top order was repeatedly undone by England’s quicks.
Josh Tongue led the rout with outstanding figures of 4-28, uprooting the middle order with pace and accuracy. Jofra Archer backed him up with 3-29, bowling with sharpness and hitting the stumps regularly, while Adil Rashid mopped up late with 2-14 as India crumbled to 76 all out after just 11.4 overs.
There were a few notable moments in the field: Harshit Rana claimed consecutive wickets to remove Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton for golden ducks, Prince Yadav produced a toe-crushing yorker to bowl Buttler, and England executed sharp, disciplined bowling plans. India also suffered a comical missed catch when Buttler and Curran both called but neither took a high skyer, which might have cost England an extra wicket but did little to change the outcome.
The margin underlined the gulf between the sides on the night. England’s captain praised the team’s communication and plans, saying their discussions and adjustments helped them adapt to a tricky surface with both bat and ball. India’s captain Shreyas Iyer condemned the performance as “atrocious” and admitted the team must go back to the drawing board, stressing the need for better execution and individual responsibility.
Sky Sports commentator Dinesh Karthik added that the loss should sting and that there are plenty of questions for a young, rebuilding India side and its new leadership to answer before the remaining matches.
With the result, England take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series, with two games still to play. The teams next meet in Bristol for the fourth T20I.