Even two-thirds of the way through England's run chase at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, this T20 series was alive and well. In the next quarter of an hour, though, the contest juddered to an alarming, sensational halt. Yuzvendra Chahal precipitated a remarkable collapse of eight for eight in 19 balls, as India battered England by 75 runs to win the third and final T20.
The leg-spinner eventually finished with the third best figures in T20 internationals, taking six for 25, as India claimed the series 2-1. Suresh Raina and M.S. Dhoni played key roles in fashioning the outcome too, making a pair of half-centuries.
Chasing 203 for victory, England had seemed on course when Eoin Morgan and Joe Root were at the crease, their stand of 64 runs threatening to take the game away. The touring captain had looked particularly fluent during his 21-ball-40 but after Amit Mishra's 13th over had gone for three runs, with Root uncomfortable, Morgan felt the pressure. His slog-sweep off Chahal took the top edge and Rishabh Pant ran in from square leg to hold a neat catch.
The next ball, Chahal sent down a terrific googly that trapped Root leg before for 42. The innings unravelled spectacularly thereafter, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan all falling to the Haryana bowler. India had been guilty of a couple of errors in the field early on, Chahal comically missing an opportunity to run Jason Roy out and Yuvraj Singh reprieving Root running across from gully. But as England's batsmen swung and failed, India's fielders made no mistake. The visitor was dismissed for 127, bringing the curtains down on a long, torrid, fruitless tour.
Earlier, Raina and Dhoni, two giants of the format, bore the Indian innings on their shoulders. Raina's explosive intervention at one-drop was desperately required after Virat Kohli's early exit, the captain having run himself out for two seeking a single that never existed. The Uttar Pradesh batsman's last half-century in international cricket had come some 16 months ago, but if he was feeling any pressure, there was little sign of it. Twenty 20 cricket does not faze him, it seems.
Raina eased himself in with an inside-out drive over the covers off Tymal Mills, the first of five sixes he thumped on the evening. The fifty took 39 balls, raised with a mighty slog sweep off Adil Rashid. At the other end, K.L. Rahul was bowled for 22 by Ben Stokes who, as it turned out 10 minutes later, had overstepped. There was little break in momentum, though. Dhoni struck the ball with savage force, with a delicate dab here and a nudge there punctuating this exhibition of strength. India motored on even as Raina fell for 63, claimed by Liam Plunkett's off-cutter.
Dhoni soon completed his first fifty in T20 internationals, a milestone that preceded Yuvraj Singh's stunning assault on Jordan. England's death-overs specialist was clobbered for 24 runs in the 18th over, Yuvraj helping himself to three clean sixes. That helped India breach 200, a total England would fall well short of.
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