India vs England 3rd T20I was a nail-biting thriller. India won the match by seven runs and sealed the series. India would consider themselves to be lucky as England came extremely close to the target of 330 that was set by India. England were 200/7 and needed 130 more runs with just three wickets of tail-enders in hand. That’s when Sam Curran’s innings of 95 becomes crucial. Sam Curran took his team’s total well in the vicinity of the target required. If not for a good last over by Natarajan, India would have lost the series and the match. Sam Curran was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ for his performance of coming at number eight and scoring as many runs as he did. But Virat Kohli was not happy with the choice of the Man of the Match.
Virat Kohli felt that Shardul Thakur should have been the Man of the Match for his ‘all-round’ performance with the bat as well as with the ball, while Bhuvaneshwar Kumar should have been the Man of the series. “I mean I'm surprised that he wasn't the Man of the Match. Four wickets and scoring 30 runs and Bhuvi another contender for Man of the Series. These guys were the difference in middle overs and powerplay. A lot of credit to them for bowling so well in adverse conditions,” Kohli said. Indian fast-bowlers Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had figures of 4/67 and 3/42 respectively.
Kohli is entitled to have an opinion about his bowlers but we also have to think the number of catches that were dropped during crucial moments in the match. Shardul Thakur also dropped a sitter in the death overs. All these things factor in while choosing the Man of the Match. “It's most disappointing for the guy who drops the catch, but as much as you get disappointed, catches get put down and sometimes they cost you. That is a part of the game. There's no lack of intent, and our body language was outstanding. Eventually, we got over the line,” said the Indian captain.
Sam Curran was the man of the match while Jonny Bairstow was adjudged Man of the Series for his tally of 218 runs in three matches which also included a hundred.
Anyway, Kohli concluded by saying: “This win has been sweet because it's against the top team in the world, and we're looking forward to the IPL.”