3rd T20I: England set huge 199 runs target for India in series decider

England depleted Indian bowling attack to set a mammoth 199 runs target in the third and final T20 International at County Ground in Bristol on Sunday.

Openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler played phenomenal innings to give the English side a perfect start. the two went on to establish 94 runs partnership before Buttler lost his wicket to Siddarth Kaul.

It was then, the Indian bowlers felt motivated and took wickets on regular intervals to put a halt on England's pace of scoring runs. 

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Hardik Pandya took his career-best four wickets while Siddarth Kaul took two to get back the momentum.

Earlier, Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl first in the third and last game of the T20I series against England. 

England won the second Twenty20 International to level the series at 1-1 and India will aim to improve the performance and win the decisive contest.

Talking after the toss, Kohli said, "We will bowl first. Looks like a pretty hard wicket. Not too much of moisture but there is a good covering of grass on it. We have got two changes. Bhuvi has a stiff back. Kaul replaces him. Deepak Chahar makes his debut. He is a new guy, swings the ball both ways and comes in for Kuldeep. Looking at the dimensions and the breeze flowing, we thought we will play an extra seamer. "

"You have to weigh your options. What the best balance of the side would be. Unfortunate for Kuldeep to miss out but he has three ODI games left and he is as lethal as he has ever been. It is just about the balance of the side."

"A great opportunity for others. Looking at the World Cup in 10 or 12 months time, it is going to be paramount how these young players react in pressure situations. It is about how they show their character and that is what the management and me will have to see."

Talking about their strategy, England skipper Eoin Morgan said, "We would have looked to chase. Again no different as predominantly sides look to chase. It sits more comfortable with our team. The wicket looks good and it should not change much. All set for a good game though. Similar ground dimensions. Cardiff flew through more than we expected. Potentially the same plans here as well."

"We have one change. Joe Root misses out and Ben Stokes comes in. Ben is fit to bowl. It is always a difficult decision to leave out such a significant player for a one-off game. Obviously great to have Ben back."

In the second match, England bowling attack restricted India to a below-par score of 148/5. 

The English bowlers came accurate with the line and length as they struck at regular intervals to deny the visitors post a challenging total. 

Apart from skipper Kohli (47) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (32 not out), no other Indian batsmen clicked and went cheaply. 

Suresh Raina, however, tried to contribute but could only managed to score 27 runs. 

It is important for the top-order batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, who failed in both the matches, to score big. 

Unlike the first match, the bowlers also failed to impress. Pacer Umesh Yadav was the only successful bowler, scalping two wickets.

Death overs specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar failed to spread his magic on foreign soil and turned out to be costly for India. 

Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Yuzvendra Chahal

England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jos Buttler(w), Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan(c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball