England skipper Jos Buttler lauded the collective bowling effort after they won the third T20I against India by 26 runs at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot on Tuesday. The tourists posted 171 runs on the board after they were put into bat by Suryakumar Yadav and it seemed like it was a below-par score.

However, the England bowlers were right on the money from the get-go as they kept the Indian batters at bay. The home team kept losing wickets at regular intervals and thus could not find any impetus in their innings. India lost three wickets in the Powerplay overs and from there on it was always going to be an uphill task for them to get over the line.

Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse scalped two wickets apiece in their spells whereas Adil Rashid didn’t allow India to get any momentum in the middle overs. Rashid got the big wicket of in-form Tilak Varma with a jaffa and conceded only 15 runs in his quota of four overs.

Jos Buttler said in the post-match presentation, “The guys bowled really well, was nice to show-off their skills. Not about how fast they can bowl, but how well they can adapt to the wicket. He’s the most important player in our team, we are fortunate to have Rashid in the team. He has all variations. Jofra is consistent, he won’t go for sixes often, but he will come back for sure if he does.”

Earlier, Ben Duckett top-scored with 51 runs off 28 balls for England as he made the most of the Powerplay overs.

Buttler added, “I think the wicket looked different, Duckett played well. We lost wickets in clumps, we were disappointed. It was crucial to pick up wickets in the powerplay. I loved the way we kept pushing and kept taking the game on. Credit to Rashid and Wood, they had a crucial partnership in the end. That was the difference in the end.”

The fourth T20I between India and England will take place at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Friday.