For the 3rd time in as many ODIs in the series, the spectators were treated to a humdinger of a contest. Both teams must be credited for playing some good quality cricket and the fact that they were evenly matched meant that the contests were close fought. Here is the complete Match Report.

Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to field. The pitch at Eden Gardens wasn’t as flat as the pitches in the previous 2 ODIs and there was a lot of bounce as well as lateral movement. The England openers put on 98 before Sam Billings was caught by Jasprit Bumrah off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja for 35. Hardik Pandya once again showed what an improved bowler he is by being economical with the new ball. Jadeja bowled Jason Roy for 65 and England were 110/2.

Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow played sensibly while capitalising on anything loose and their partnership assumed dangerous proportions. Hardik Pandya provided the breakthrough when he dismissed Morgan, who was caught by Jasprit Bumrah for 43. Buttler scored 11 before he was caught by KL Rahul off the bowling of Hardik Pandya. Jonny Bairstow’s innings came to an end when he cut Pandya to backward point where Jadeja pulled off an excellent catch. Bumrah produced a well-directed short ball to Moeen Ali, who top edged it on to his helmet and Jadeja took the catch at backward point.

Ben Stokes showed why he is regarded as one of the best all-rounders in the world by scoring an unbeaten 57 off 39 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. Chris Woakes played a quick cameo scoring 34 off just 19 balls with 4 fours and a six and England ended their innings at 321/8 off their stipulated 50 overs. This was a good total because the pitch was aiding the fast bowlers with some bounce and lateral movement. Hardik Pandya was the outstanding bowler for India taking 3 wickets and conceding just 49 runs off his 10 overs. Jasprit Bumrah’s figures read 10-1-68-1.

In India’s reply, Rahane fell early and KL Rahul followed him soon after, when he tried to hook Jake Ball and was caught by Jos Buttler. Kohli and Yuvraj steadied the ship with a 65 run stand before Buttler took a good catch off the bowling of Stokes to send Kohli back to the hut for 55. Yuvraj took some time to settle before unleashing some of his trademark drives and pulls. Dhoni was caught by Buttler off the bowling of Ball for 25, and India were reduced to 173/5 in the 32nd over. India’s chances rested on the shoulders of Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav and the duo did not disappoint.

Jadhav is relatively new to international cricket but has a lot of experience in domestic cricket and he used it to good effect. Pandya has a lot of talent with the bat and he showcased his prowess by playing a composed innings with a lot of common sense. He unleashed his full repertoire of shots and the pair took India close to victory. The duo put on a century partnership before Pandya was dismissed for 56 off just 43 balls studded with 4 fours and 2 sixes. He has definitely cemented his spot as the all-rounder in the Indian side, courtesy of his excellent displays with both bat and ball in this series.

India needed 16 runs off the final over with 3 wickets in hand and England were favourites at that stage. Jadhav brought the equation down to 6 runs required in 4 balls by striking Chris Woakes for a six and a four over extra cover. However, he failed to score of the next 2 deliveries and was dismissed off the 5th delivery, when he was caught by Billings at deep point. India needed 6 off the last ball and Woakes bowled a dot ball to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. England won by 5 runs and registered their first win against India on this tour. Ben Stokes bowled 10 overs and picked up 3 wickets, conceding 63 runs. Stokes was named the Man of the Match for his all-round display.

The focus now shifts to the T20I series which starts at Kanpur on the 26th of January.