Archer, Tongue obliterate India for 76 in 125-run rout

There was the breezy Abhishek Sharma start. There were a couple of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sixes. But that was all India had to drive home about as their batters capitulated in alarming fashion, crashing to a lowly total of 76 in the 3rd T20I at Trent Bridge. Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer bowled with velocity and hit the deck, powering England to a massive 125-run win and a 2-0 series lead with two games to go.

On a largely good batting deck, India's pursuit of 202 began with Sooryavanshi slashing Archer over third man for six, even as there was an evident plan to bowl short at him. Abhishek helped himself to an effortless six over point off a full toss from Tongue, who then dished one in the slot as Sooryavanshi launched him over mid-wicket. But the moment Tongue went into the pitch, it reaped instant dividends as Abhishek perished, before Archer broke the game open with a well-directed short ball which Sooryavanshi gloved down to the 'keeper.

The Indian batters came out playing their shots, but also picked out the fielders to perfection. Ishan Kishan hammered one that sat up in the pitch to deep backward square leg, before Shreyas Iyer picked up a leg-stump half-volley to the same fielder. Axar Patel counter-attacked with a four and a six, but Archer had the last laugh, undoing the left-hander with extra bounce on the cut for his third scalp. India lost half their side by the end of the fifth over, marking their first instance ever of losing five wickets inside the first six overs.

Every move from Harry Brook worked like a charm. With Harshit Rana bumped up the order ahead of Shivam Dube, he deployed the spin of Will Jacks and Adil Rashid to tie down Rana and Tilak Varma. Tilak, who had laboured his way to 3 off 11, was stumped - only just, as Jos Buttler nearly made a mess of the attempt - off the bowling of Jacks. Brook then swiftly reintroduced Tongue to account for Dube, eliminating any sliver of hope that remained for India.

The rest continued to swing and perished on a day when England could get little wrong on the field, barring a bizarre miscommunication between Buttler and Sam Curran as the ball dropped right between them. Tongue eventually finished with a fourth wicket and Adil Rashid ate into the pie himself for a couple of scalps. England needed just four bowlers on the day as India's innings lasted 11.4 overs and concluded well before sunset in Nottingham.

Earlier in the evening, England - and particularly Phil Salt - were kept quiet early on after being asked to bat first. Arshdeep Singh began with a maiden to keep the right-hander in check, while the second over produced just seven runs. The Powerplay was defined by India's seamers trusting their defensive options, hitting hard lengths and yorkers on a consistent basis. Buttler broke the shackles in the third over with a couple of boundaries off Arshdeep, before laying into Axar for a straight six and a four. Buttler was in the mood, timing the ball sweetly as he pumped momentum into the innings, taking the attack to Harshit as well with a six and a four.

Prince Yadav vindicated his selection with a leg-stump yorker that cleaned up Buttler for 36 off the first ball he sent down. He closed out the Powerplay with an impressive over that ensured England never raced away, managing 49 in the phase. Salt continued to struggle as Varun Chakaravarthy started with a tidy over, and while Brook pulled off an incredible loft over extra cover for four, he immediately miscued a short delivery to hand Prince his second. At 74/2 in 9 overs, the time had come for Salt to break free. Batting on 17 off 19, he pummeled a Chakaravarthy half-tracker for six before cashing in on a couple of loose deliveries in an 18-run over.

More runs came off Axar as England zoomed past 100. Rana was brought back in the 12th over and he landed a double-blow - Jacob Bethell holed out to deep mid-wicket before Tom Banton upper-cut a short ball outside the off stump straight down deep third man's throat. But England were in no mood to slow down, with Salt loosening the handbrake as he raised a half-century, before dismissing a couple of Arshdeep half-volleys from his presence. Sam Curran started briskly himself as England set the launchpad for a flamboyant finish.

The 17th over went pear-shaped for Axar despite dismissing Salt right after being dispatched for a six. He erred too short and then too full for Jacks to smash them both into the crowd, before Curran picked up two boundaries and a string of twos in the 18th over. India's seamers managed to extract considerable reverse-swing though, underlined by an outstanding penultimate over from Prince who did not miss his mark with the yorker. He should have had Curran, only for Rana to spill a chance in the deep but the Delhi seamer emerged the pick of the Indian bowlers with returns of 2/30. Jacks was run out in the final over but Curran's unbeaten 41 ensured that England got past 200.

It seemed as though they left a few runs out with the bat on that surface. Except, their bowlers had other ideas, setting up an emphatic victory for the hosts.

Brief Scores:England 201/7 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 70, Sam Curran 41*; Prince Yadav 2-30, Harshit Rana 2-40) beat India 76 in 11.4 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 13; Josh Tongue 4-28, Jofra Archer 3-29, Adil Rashid 2-14) by 125 runs