IND vs ENG, 3rd ODI: India defeats England by 7 runs to clinch series 2-1

India completed a remarkable period of international cricket by sealing their 5th series win since the resumption of the Covid-19 pandemic. Virat Kohli's men survived a massive scare as Sam Curran's valiant effort went in vain in the series decider that went down the wire in Pune on Sunday.

After finishing on the right side of the thrilling encounter, India won the ODI series 2-1 against the world champions. India, who won the T20I and Test series in Australia, completed a hat-trick of series win against England at home.

This was also India's 4th successive home series victory in ODIs, a run that began after the 2019 World Cup and the 2nd time India have won series in all 3 formats against a touring England side.

India were clinical on Sunday with Rishabh Pant (78), Shikhar Dhawan (67) and Hardik Pandya (64) leading the charge with the bat and Shardul Thakur (4/64) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/42) getting the job done with the ball despite a spirited lone-warrior effort from Sam Curran (95 not out).

India had headed into the 3rd ODI under a bit of pressure after being handed a thrashing in the 2nd ODI despite posting 336 In 50 overs. England had got to the target in



just 43.3 overs after a brutal onslaught from Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow as the world champions proved no total is safe against them.

Once again, Virat Kohli lost the toss and India were asked to bat, on Sunday. And India showcased they are open to change in approach as Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma got to a strong start, posting 65 in the first 10 overs. The two openers added 103 for the opening wicket and put the pressure back on England.

However, England got back into the game with Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid picking up the Big 3 of India's ODI batting unit -- Virat Kohli, Rohit and Dhawan. India lost KL Rahul soon after and were under a spot of bother despite maintaining a healthy run rate.

Just when England were looking to pull things back further, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya joined hands and came up with a counter-attacking masterclass. Pant hit 4 sixes and 5 boundaries for his 62-ball 78 while Hardik hit 4 sixes and 5 boundaries for his 44-ball 64.

However, both the well-set batsmen fell in quick succession, allowing England to claw back into the contest. Despite a Shardul Thakur 21-ball 30, India managed only 329, losing their last 6 wickets for 74 runs.