England's performance in the third ODI against India was subpar as they suffered second-biggest ODI defeat against Men in Blue at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 12. India posted a colossal total of 342 runs on the board riding on Shubman Gill's splendid century. In reply, England suffered a batting collapse, hence were bowled out for just 214 runs.
Bowling first, England got off to a decent start as they bagged an early breakthrough with the wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma. But despite the wishful start England couldn't capitalise on it. Shubman Gill (112) dominated the English bowlers, scoring a brilliant century, while Virat Kohli (52) and Shreyas Iyer (78) also chipped in with impressive half-centuries. Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers for England as he took four wickets. He was supported by Mark Wood's two wickets, and one each from Saqib Mahmood and Joe Root.
Jos Buttler defends England's Bazball approach despite ODI series defeat to India
However, England's batting during the run chase looked rusty. While the openers provided some initial hope, their dismissals triggered a collapse. England never looked likely to chase down the target, and they were eventually bowled out for 214 runs in 34.2 overs, resulting in a 142-run loss and a series whitewash.
Meanwhile, during the post-match presentation, Jos Buttler defended their batting approach, stating that it was the right one, but their execution had been lacking. He admitted that they were comprehensively outplayed by a strong Indian team..
"It went in similar fashion to the whole tour (talking about the batting). We were outplayed by a fantastic team. Our approach (with bat) is a right one, just that we haven't executed well," Buttler said in the post-match presentation.
"They put a great score on the board. Shubman played a great innings. We got off to a great start again but familiar story again for us. Need to find a way to bat longer. We were up against a really good side that keeps challenging," Buttler added.
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England's embarrassing ODI series defeat at the hands of India came as a big dent to their Champions Trophy preparations which is set to get underway from February 19. The loss in Ahmedabad was their seventh in just eight matches, raising serious concerns about the team's form. Earlier, Buttler's brigade suffered a 1-4 series defeat against India in the five-match T20I series.