New Delhi: India defeated England by 142 runs in the third ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 12. The hosts also clinched the ODI series by 3-0. Asked to bat first, India got off to a poor start as Mark Wood dismissed Rohit Sharma in the second over of the innings.
Shubman Gill along with Virat Kohli batted well and stitched a 116-run partnership for the second wicket. Kohli completed his fifty while Gill notched up his seventh hundred in ODIs. Shreyas Iyer also amassed 78 runs off 64 deliveries with the help of eight boundaries and two maximums. KL Rahul who initially batted at No. 6 in the first two matches but didn’t look comfortable and fared much better at the No. 5 slot with a useful 40 off 29 balls as the Men in Blue posted a massive 356-run total on the board.
Chasing the huge target, the visitors bundled out for 214 runs in the 34.2 overs. Openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett forged a 60-run partnership for the opening wicket but after their dismissal, the visitors suffered another collapse in the middle overs. Gus Atkinson batted well and stretched the team’s score past 200 but Jos Buttler and Co. fell 142-run short of the target.
‘KL is the No. 1 wicketkeeper’: Gautam Gambhir
India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir in the post-match press conference said that it is very difficult to talk about individuals but Pant is part of the squad and when the time comes he might get an opportunity. Gambhir further added that at the moment KL is the No. 1 wicketkeeper and he has delivered for the team.
“When you’ve got two wicketkeepers in the squad, you can’t play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he (Pant) gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That’s all I can say at the moment. Yes, KL is the one who’s going to start” Gambhir added.
India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, revealed the team’s first-choice wicketkeeper for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on February 19 in Pakistan and UAE. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
