Set 260 to claim this decider, the tourists had suffered some early flashbacks to last Thursday’s 100-run defeat at Lord’s when Reece Topley rolled over the form witnessed in that six-wicket performance and wiped out the top three with the new ball. England, under par with the bat, suddenly believed a repeat was in the offing. But from 72 for four in the 17th over, once Craig Overton had nicked off Suryakumar Yadav with some extra bounce, Pant and Hardik Pandya began brutalising Buttler’s attack in a 133-run stand that broke the back of the chase and had the majority-Indian crowd in raptures; not for the first time, England were playing an away game at home. After earlier delivering four wickets with seven overs of right-arm spite, Pandya fell for a 55-ball 71 with 55 runs required. But Pant ploughed on unperturbed, muscling 15 fours and two sixes overall to finish 121 not out from 112 balls and finish the job with eight overs to spare. This was a vintage innings, his first century in 27 one-day appearances and the type that could easily unlock more from this special talent. Pant and Pandya did offer chances. Buttler missed a stumping chance when the former was on 18, while the latter saw a four sail over Overton’s head on six after the Somerset man misjudged its trajectory. Neither looked back, however, Pandya lasering drives with precision and Pant batting like a left-handed Asterix after a swig of magic potion. It was Buttler who had earlier provided the ballast for England’s 259 all out from 45.4 overs, top-scoring with an 80-ball 60 from No 5. This represented the one and only half-century from his side in a series that has seen the roads of the recent past replaced with pitches offering a touch more for the seamers. Hardik Pandya goes on the attack to help India to a comfortable win against England at Old Trafford. Photograph: George Franks/ProSports/Shutterstock After losing the toss, the England captain arrived with one ball of the powerplay remaining at 66 for three. Mohammed Siraj had come into the Indian XI following a late back spasm for Jasprit Bumrah and saw low-key series from Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root – stars of the early Test summer – end with a pair of ducks. Bairstow chipped a leading edge to mid-off in the second over, Root was a genuine nick to second slip three balls later. Jason Roy did add some early impetus with a 30-ball 41 but saw this terminated with a spooned catch behind off Pandya when attempting to whip a length ball square with a snap of the wrists. Ben Stokes was already out there and continuing his summer of outright aggression but on 27 he tried to charge Pandya, only for his fellow-all-rounder to spot this, bang the ball in short and claim a simple return catch. In came Moeen Ali at 74 for four, the more silent partner with 34 in a stand of 75 alongside Buttler that steadied a listing ship. Moeen was becalmed – his initial three off 20 balls was the slowest start by an England batter since the 2015 World Cup – but soon he and Buttler began to tuck into Yuzvendra Chahal with three heaved sixes. It prompted a smart change by Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja replacing the leg-spinner and, third ball, getting Moeen on the sweep. Jadeja wasn’t done there, however, with two wonderful catches to send Liam Livingstone and Buttler packing in the space of three deliveries. The former had just pulled two eye-popping sixes off Pandya into the construction site square of the wicket – the first actually bursting through the fence like a torpedo – but a third attempt on 27 picked out Jadeja on the rope. The follow-up to remove Buttler was even better, Jadeja diving at full stretch and deservedly milking the applause. The pace and bounce of Pandya had won this battle of the egos but from 199 for seven in the 37th over, England’s tail wagged through Willey (18) and Overton (32). The reintroduction of Chahal cut the innings 25 balls short, however, with the pair holing out trying to clear the rope and Topley reading a googly like it was Esperanto. Topley at least got the new ball to talk his language, Shikhar Dhawan slicing to backward point, Sharma poking to slip on 17 and Kohli took his run of international innings without a century to 79 when similarly dabbing at a ball that angled across him. Overall, however, England failed to match Pandya’s spikiness with the ball and thus could not stop an innings from Pant that was fittingly breathtaking.
