Cricket - Third One Day International - India v England - Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, India - March 28, 2021 India celebrate winning the series with the trophy REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
PUNE, India - India held its nerve in the final over to win the third and final one-day international by seven runs against England and clinch the series 2-1 on Sunday.
Sam Curran, batting at No. 8, hit an unbeaten 95 off 83 balls which threatened to snatch a dramatic victory for England.
Needing 14 runs off Thangarasu Natarajan’s last over, England finished on 322-9 in reply to India’s 329 all out in 48.2 overs.
Shardul Thakur claimed 4-67 but it was two early wickets from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-42) which helped India keep ahead and strike with regular wickets before Curran's brilliant fightback.
England won the toss and Mark Wood’s 3-34 helped to avert an even larger score for India. Rishabh Pant (78), Shikhar Dhawan (67) and Hardik Pandya (64) all scored half centuries but India lost its way in the latter half of the innings.
Wood took all his wickets off his last seven deliveries as the India innings folded quickly, losing four wickets for just eight runs.
Curran, who hit nine fours and three sixes, kept England in the hunt by farming the strike with Wood after England looked all but out of the game at 257-8 in the 40th over.
Curran nearly turned the tables with a 60-run ninth-wicket stand with Wood (14) before Wood was run out off the first ball in the last over.
India had its chances but dropped four catches as Curran was twice let off the hook on 22 and 87 before Natarajan was left with enough runs in the bag in the 50th over to complete India’s treble at home against England.
India also won the test series 3-1 to qualify for the world test championship final and prevailed 3-2 in the Twenty20 series.
