Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya star as India win T20I series against England

Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten century and Hardik Pandya took four wickets as India defeated England by seven wickets in the third T20I to win the three-match series. With the series tied at 1-1, Rohit produced an extraordinary performance, and with the help of Virat Kohli and Pandya, chased down 199 with more than an over to spare.

England, having been put into bat first, posted a mammoth 198 for 9 in their 20 overs. At one point, it seemed the hosts will rack well in excess of 220, but the Indian bowlers pulled back the scoring in the second part of the innings.

Jason Roy and Jos Buttler were on fire right from the start. The duo put up 94 on the board in less than eight overs. But their stand was ended by Siddharth Kaul, who dismissed Buttler for 34.

Alex Hales came in next, and before he could make a move on, he saw Roy dismissed for a well made 67 from the other end. Eoin Morgan came in next, and just like last match, him and Hales controlled the proceedings and took the score forward. 

But Hardik Pandya struck twice in the 14th over to dismiss the duo and halt England's progress. But the two new players on the crease, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes, attacked the Indian bowlers.

Their quickfire 37-run stand was ended by Pandya, who removed the duo within three balls in the 18 overs. The tailenders of England struggled to get runs, and could only take the hosts to 198 in 20 overs.

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In reply, India got off to a worst possible start, losing Shikhar Dhawan for 5 in the third over. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul then attacked the bowlers, and looked composed at the crease.

But in the sixth over, Chris Jordan caught hold of a stunning catch to get rid of Rahul, who departed for 19 of 10 balls. Skipper Virat Kohli came in, and he along with Rohit put up an absolute carnage.

The two shared a 89-run partnership and took India to the doorsteps of a series win. But Jordan came up with yet another brilliant effort to remove Kohli in the 15th over. It opened up a small opening for the hosts.

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Though, Rohit and Hardik Pandya had other ideas. The duo put together an unbeaten 50-run stand of just 23 balls to finish off the game in style. At the end, Rohit remained unbeaten on 100 of just 56 balls, and Pandya played a sensational cameo, scoring 33 of just 14 balls.

With this series win, India have now racked up six consecutive series wins.