England secured a record 125-run victory over India in the third T20 international in Rajkot, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. India were bowled out for 76 in 12.1 overs, their lowest total in T20 cricket, in response to England's 201-7.
England's innings: Salt leads the way
England's opener Phil Salt top-scored with 70 off 44 balls, while Sam Curran remained unbeaten on 41 off 24. The pair added 63 for the sixth wicket after England had been reduced to 138-5 in the 15th over. Earlier, Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat, but England struggled against India's spinners, with Varun Chakravarthy taking 1-28 and Axar Patel 1-27.
India's batting collapse
India's chase started aggressively, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hitting two sixes in the first over. However, the innings fell apart after the early dismissals of Abhishek Sharma (8) and Sooryavanshi (13). Josh Tongue took 4-14, including the wickets of Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, and Axar Patel, while Jofra Archer claimed 2-20. India lost five wickets in the first five overs and never recovered.
Captain's comments
India captain Shreyas Iyer said: "It was atrocious. We played awful cricket." Head coach Gautam Gambhir defended the team's aggressive approach: "Sometimes when you play a high-risk, high-reward game these things can happen. That's what has made us successful." England captain Harry Brook praised Salt's innings, calling it "a mega innings."
