Suryakumar's magical hundred goes in vain as England win third T20 game

Suryakumar Yadav gave a 360-degree masterclass enroute to a special hundred but England pulled off a consolatory 17-run win over India in the third T20 International at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

Dawid Malan made a sublime 77 off 39 balls as England put India’s second string attack to sword to finish with a mammoth 215 for seven.

Suryakumar (117 off 55 balls) kept India in the hunt with his classy effort but lacked support from other batters while chasing the huge target. India’s innings ended at 198 for nine in 20 overs.

India sealed the three-match series 2-1, having won in Southampton and Birmingham.

India were on the backfoot at the start of the run chase, struggling to 31 for three in five overs.

Openers Rohit Sharma (11) and Rishabh Pant (1) perished cheaply and it was another failure for Virat Kohli (11), who was caught at cover while trying to manufacture a third consecutive hit after collecting a four and a straight six off David Willey.

Suryakumar brought India back into the game with a 119-run stand with Shreyas Iyer (28 off 23), who was a spectator to his partner’s brilliance for the major part of the partnership.

As he often does, Suryakumar toyed with the opposition bowlers and picked his shots all around the ground.

The highlights of his glorious innings were the two lofted square drives off pacers Richard Gleeson and Chris Jordan that went all the way for six.

He became the fifth Indian to score a hundred in T20 Internationals by opening the face of the bat and guiding a low full toss off Willey between backward point and short third-man.

His innings comprised 14 fours and half a dozen sixes.

Suryakumar single-handedly brought the equation down to gettable 66 off 30 balls before running out of partners at the other end.

“I thought it was a fantastic chase although we fell short. We are proud of the fight. Surya was magnificent to watch. I have been watching him for a while now. Loves this format, has wide range of shots. He has grown from strength to strength since we got him into the squad,” skipper Rohit said.

Even England captain Jos Buttler heaped praise on Suryakumar.

“Good fun to play, fantastic game. I thought we had a slightly above-par score. Unbelievable innings from SKY,” Buttler said.

Earlier, skipper Buttler (18 off 9 balls) and Jason Roy (27 off 26) helped England reach 52 for 1 in six overs. Malan and Liam Livingstone (42 not out off 29) then shared an entertaining 84-run partnership to set the platform for a massive total.

Malik leaked the most runs for India, ending with figures of one for 56 in four overs.