England captain Jos Buttler was pleased with the bowling show put up by his bowlers', especially in the back end of the innings, to give the hosts a consolation win by 17 runs against India in the third T20I at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
In the last five overs, England took out six wickets, including off-spinner Moeen Ali managing to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav for 117, to restrict India to 198/9 in 20 overs. This came after a middle overs phase where Suryakumar had a stand of 119 with Shreyas Iyer and India didn't lose any wicket after seeing their top-order go down in the first five overs.
"I thought Reece Topley bowled into the wicket and took pace off really well. The guys bowled really well at the end there and they backed the yorker, with a bit of lateral movement. I was pleased to see Gleeson back another performance and CJ (Chris Jordan) has been excellent all series.
We are blessed with options. Lot of all-rounders in there as well. We bat deep," said Buttler after the match.Asked on the decision to save Jordan for the final over and bowling Ali in the 19th over, Buttler explained, "It was a difficult decision (to bowl the 19th over) but Mo (Moeen Ali) was keen to bowl, selfless character.
Jordan has had a great series and he has been someone we have always turned to. He may not always get the results on paper.... but he has looked in good shape this whole series and has reaped the rewards."Buttler went on to appreciate Suryakumar for his astonishing 55-ball 117, his first in T20Is, laced with 14 fours and six sixes at a strike-rate of 212.73 which single-handedly kept India in the hunt of chasing a massive 216.
"Good fun to play. It was a fantastic game of cricket and a lot more like we are used to seeing from our side, especially with the bat, so I was pleased. The wicket didn't have some of the pace we sometimes see here.
But unbelievable innings from Sky (Suryakumar). That was one of the best hundreds I have seen and he put us under a lot of pressure."