'Left too much for too late' - Irfan Pathan on India's Rajkot loss against England

The third T20I of the five-match series between India and England being played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot went in the favour of the latter, who ended up emerging winners by 26 runs. With this, England made a comeback in the series, the scoreline reading 2-1. Opting to bowl first for the third consecutive instance, India let the visitors rack up 171. In response, they could manage only 145/9.

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan expressed where India faltered to lose the game, highlighting that the team left "too much for too late".

"In the T20 format ability to rotate the strike is very important on slightly slower wicket. India left it too much for too late in the end," Pathan wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

In the T20 format ability to rotate the strike is very important on slightly slower wicket. India left it too much for too
late in the end.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 28, 2025

Also Read: 'You cannot take 20-25 balls to get settled' - Parthiv Patel questions Hardik Pandya's intent after India's defeat to England

Interestingly, the Indian unit played plenty of dot balls during the chase. Hardik Pandya top-scored with a 35-ball 40-run knock. The atypical knock from the star all-rounder consisted of one four and a couple of sixes, including 12 dot deliveries. Washington Sundar and Axar Patel endured a tough time in the middle as well as three out of the four English bowlers who completed their quota registered 10 dots or more.

The two sides will now face each other in Pune and Mumbai in the fourth and fifth T20Is, respectively. Going by the manner England played in Rajkot, they stand a good chance of giving India a tough fight in the remainder of the series. After the T20Is, three ODIs will be played in Nagpur, Cuttack, and Ahmedabad, respectively. The teams will then fly over to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy.