India defeated England by seven runs in the third and final ODI, at the MCA Stadium in Pune, yesterday. The win helped India seal a 2-1 win in the three-match series.

In response to a target of 330 runs, England could only reach 322 for nine in 50 overs, with Sam Curran smashing an unbeaten knock of 95 runs in 83 balls.

Despite Curran’s valiant display, the visitors crashed to a defeat, crumbling against India’s bowling department.

Shardul Thakur was in top form for India, returning with four wickets and Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped three dismissals. Also, T. Natarajan took a wicket and held his nerves in the final over to take India to a thrilling series win.

Earlier, the hosts were bowled out for 329 runs in 48.2 overs. Rishabh Pant slammed a knock of 78 runs off 62 balls, and helped his side reach a competitive total.

Shikhar Dhawan (67) and Hardik Pandya (64) also made decent contributions, scoring half-centuries against England. For England, Mark Wood took three wickets, and Adil Rashid registered two dismissals.

Meanwhile, Sam Curran, Reece Topley, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone registered a wicket each against the hosts.

Brief Scores

India: 329 all out in 48.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 78, Shikhar Dhawan 67, Hardik Pandya 64; Mark Wood 3/34) beat England: 322 for 9 in 50 overs (Sam Curran 95 not out; Shardul Thakur 4/67, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/42).