In the third and final ODI, which would decide the series, India defeated England for 259 thanks to the outstanding bowling of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (3/60) and all-arounder Hardik Pandya (4/24) at Old Trafford on Sunday.
England's skipper Jos Buttler, who was asked to bat first by India's captain Rohit Sharma, played a crucial knock (60 off 80) for England. For the hosts, Jason Roy (41), Moeen Ali (34), and Craig Overton (32) were the other key batsmen in addition to Buttler. The other wicket-takers for India, in addition to Pandya and Chahal, were Mohammed Siraj (2/66) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/21).
Opening batsman Jason Roy displayed aggressive intent right on and hit three fours in the opening over, but India struck just nine balls into the game to take the lead.
Siraj, who replaced an injured Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI, made an immediate effect by dismissing Jonny Bairstow (-0), who got a leading edge while trying to work one on the leg side, and the replacement Shreyas Iyer took an easy catch.
England was in danger at 12/2 after two overs when Joe Root (batting number zero) was pushed by Siraj to give an easy catch to the slip fielder. Nevertheless, Roy and Ben Stokes chose to respond, undaunted by the twin strike. They quickly accelerated to their 50-run partnership.
Hardik Pandya was inserted into the attack by captain Rohit Sharma because the main bowlers were failing to control the flow of runs. Roy frequently needs space, which the all-rounder continued denying him, leading to the wicket. Roy attempted to smash a short ball but got a top edge instead. Rishabh Pant collected the catch, giving India their third wicket.
With England struggling at 74-4 after 13.2 overs, Pandya struck again to remove Stokes. Stokes came down the track but was unable to play the short ball, and the bowler grabbed the catch.
From that point on, it was up to captain Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali to save England. They were patient and found their rhythm, forming an important partnership and applying some pressure back to the Indian bowlers.
As soon as it appeared that their partnership was thriving and driving England to a respectable score, Ravindra Jadeja struck in his very first over, giving India the crucial wicket of Moeen. Moeen edged the ball down the leg side, and Pant made an outstanding catch.
Buttler contributed a key fifty and kept the England batting order together. Buttler and Liam Livingstone needed to bat deeply because there were still more than 17 overs left in the innings and England was already halfway down, but Pandya once again turned the tide of the match in only three deliveries.
Both Livingstone and Buttler attempted to take on Hardik on the short ball in the 37th over of the innings, but both times they were beautifully caught by Jadeja in the deep. David Willey, who had scored for England in the prior match, appeared in excellent form once more and was starting to reach a boundary or an over when Chahal re-entered the fray and ended the cameo (18) with a slower one.
The lower-order batters hit the leg-spinner for few boundaries but Chahal picked up the final two wickets in the same over to polish off the tail and end England's innings at 259 in 45.5 overs.
Brief scores: England 259 all out in 45.5 overs (Jos Buttler 60, Jason Roy 41; Hardik Pandya 4/24, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/60) vs India