Sun Jan 26 06:30:14 UTC 2025: ## India Edges Out England in Thrilling T20 Finish at Chepauk

**Chennai, India** – India secured a thrilling two-wicket victory over England in the third T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on January 25th, extending their unbeaten run in domestic T20s to ten matches. Chasing 166, India slumped to 78/5 before Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 72 (55 balls) and crucial partnerships steered them to victory with four balls to spare.

England, after posting 165/9, had India on the ropes. However, late-innings contributions from Washington Sundar (26), Arshdeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi, who hit crucial boundaries in the final overs, helped Varma see his team through. Bishnoi’s two boundaries in the penultimate over significantly reduced the pressure.

India’s spin attack, featuring Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Bishnoi, proved highly effective, taking 6 wickets for 118 runs across 14 overs. The English batsmen struggled against the spin, although late hitting from Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran pushed their total to a respectable 165. No English batsmen reached a half-century. Conversely, England’s fast bowlers conceded runs freely; Jofra Archer gave up 60 runs in four overs, while Mark Wood and Olly Stone conceded 28 and 20 respectively. Rashid Khan was the exception, taking a wicket for 14 runs in his four overs.

India’s batting was shaky early on, with several batsmen falling to poor shot selection. While Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav started aggressively, they were dismissed after playing attacking shots, unable to fully judge the pace and bounce of the pitch. Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik also disappointed with low scores. However, the crucial partnership between Varma and Sundar turned the tide, with Sundar’s aggressive cameo of 26 (19 balls) proving decisive.

England’s captain, Jos Buttler, missed opportunities to capitalize on India’s early setbacks, failing to utilize his bowlers effectively.

India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, praised his team’s resilience and the crucial partnerships that secured the win. He highlighted Ravi Bishnoi’s focused practice leading to his crucial contributions. This win puts India 2-0 up in the five-match series.

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