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Team India made a mess of its run chase of 172 against England in the third T20I in Rajkot, suffering defeat by 26 runs in the end. India lost wickets at regular intervals and their batting slowed down considerably in the middle overs, as Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel failed to accelerate. India opted to go with a left-right combination at all stages, which saw Dhruv Jurel walk in to bat at No. 8. Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen criticised the approach chosen by India.
Pietersen batted for the promotion of Dhruv Jurel in the batting order, speaking highly of his batting credentials.
"India didn't get the batting order right. Dhruv Jurel is an accomplished batter. Having him lower down the order for the left and right combination was not right. I'm a firm believer in your best batters batting up front," Pietersen said, speaking after the match on Star Sports.
Washington Sundar (6 off 15) and Axar Patel (15 off 16) both operated at a strike rate of under 100, while Hardik Pandya did the same for the most part and only accelerated unsuccessfully late on, making 40 off 35.
It meant that Jurel walked in to bat in the 18th over, and failed to fire, scoring just 2 runs off four balls.
This was India's first loss in a T20I in five games. Despite a good bowling effort, the 10th-wicket partnership between Adil Rashid and Mark Wood put up 24, helping England to a respectable 174.
India lost their top four batters inside the first 10 overs, with Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and captain Suryakumar Yadav departing inside the powerplay. India were unable to cope with the early loss of wickets, as England tightened the screws in the middle overs.
India next take on England in the fourth T20I on Friday, January 31, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.