Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to India's defeat in 3rd IND vs ENG T20I 2025 ft. Irfan Pathan

Team India, after winning back-to-back T20Is in the ongoing five-match series against England, lost the third game as the visitors opened their account to take the series to 2-1. With two games remaining to be played, India needs to win one to clinch the series while England will be looking for victories in both.

After putting up dominant performances in the first two T20Is, the Men in Blue’s under-par performance, especially with the bat, became a point of discussion. The Indian skipper faced criticism from fans and pundits for not rising to the occasion.

India opted to bowl first, and Varun Chakravarthy was the only shining light in the team’s first innings as he picked up a brilliant five-wicket haul, thereby restricting the visitors to 172.

While it looked like a cakewalk for the hosts, Adil Rashid made merry of the situation in the middle overs as India’s batting unit collapsed. As a result, England clinched an emphatic victory, handing India their first defeat in this series.

On that note, let’s look at how some of the experts and pundits reacted to India’s loss:

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#5 Aakash Chopra

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra never shies away from sharing his opinion and he pointed out some glaring errors that the team made. Taking to his X account, he wrote:

“Not the result that india wanted but a few things standing out. Washington bowling only one over. Twice in two games. India’s reluctance to play an extra seamer. Jurel at 8? Also, if patterns develop in the way you’re getting out, there’s a problem that needs addressing.”

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#4 Irfan Pathan

Former India cricketer-turned-commentator, Irfan Pathan said that the Indian batters not rotating the strike on a pitch like the one in Rajkot cost them big time.

On his X account, he shared:

“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.”

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#3 Parthiv Patel

Parthi Patel was critical of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who played a very slow innings in Rajkot, eventually failing to set the team’s momentum. Speaking of his knock on Star Sports, Patel said:

“One cannot take 20-25 balls to get set in a T20I. Can't take 20-25 balls to get set. I understand taking your time but you have to keep rotating the strike. Hardik may have ended up with 40 off 35 but there were a lot of dot balls at the start of his innings.”

Pandya, who was once batting at 14* (21), managed to score 40 runs off 35 deliveries.

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#2 Kevin Pietersen

Speaking after the match on Star Sports, Kevin Pietersen scrutinized India’s batting order, saying that the team failed to get that right. He felt that India, while focusing on the left-right combination, failed to make the most of Dhruv Jurel, thereby bringing him to bat very late at No. 8.

“India didn't get the batting order right. Dhruv Jurel is an accomplished batter. Having him lower down the order for the left and right combination was not right. I'm a firm believer in your best batters batting up front. Left and right combination is alright till No. 4 but after that, you should send your best batters. Jurel is a proper batsman. He could have constructed a big innings," Pietersen said.

Dhruv Jurel has showcased his prowess with the bat previously, and walking onto the pitch after the loss of six wickets could have added pressure on the young batter.

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#1 Michael Vaughan

Former English cricketer Michael Vaughan reserved some harsh comments for Suryakumar Yadav, saying that he has been failing to build the innings. He believes that the Indian skipper should spend some time in the middle before going for the big shots.

“Only way the players get into good form is by spending time in the middle. At the minute, Suryakumar Yadav is going out there, hitting a few good shots, and before you blink, he is back on his way to the dugout without making too much of a contribution. When you say be aggressive all the time, it is choosing the right ball to be aggressive to," Vaughan said while speaking on a Cricbuzz show.

He continued:

“Clearly you cannot hit every single ball to the boundary. For India to be the team they are, they are the world champions for a reason, they need their best players in form.

"If there was ever a time for him (Surya) to just step back and go from fifth gear to third gear, just to give himself a chance to get in, it was probably now (in Rajkot). You were not chasing 210-220, the target was a reasonable one, just to play sensibly and chase it down."