Last-gasp Curran heroics are in vain
SAM SO NEARLY STEALS IT FOR ENGLAND
BRILLIANT Sam Curran fell agonisingly short of a century as he narrowly failed to get England across the line in their tour finale.
His stunning 95 not out proved in vain as the tourists just missed out on a series-winning victory in a game they had no right to win.
India triumphed by seven runs in a thriller as Thangarasu Natarajan, right, held his nerve with England needing 14 off the final over, leaving the hosts with a 2-1 win in the ODIs and a clean sweep across all three formats.
Virat Kohli’s team had been in complete control until Curran was given a life on 22 by one of four dropped catches.
He took advantage to flay the bowling to all parts in the chase for an unlikely target of 330.
Curran produced an innings worthy of winning any game of white-ball cricket, but in the end there was a little too much for him to do. “We didn’t win so I’m disappointed,” said the 22-yearold after missing out on a maiden List A ton.
“I’m massively competitive and I play to win, but I’m happy with the way I played.
“The message was to try to take the game as deep as possible. It was a small boundary and a good wicket.
“Fair play to Natarajan at the end, he got his six balls in the right area.
“It is a massive learning experience for me. I’ve never done something like that. I really enjoyed it and it has given me confidence going into the IPL.”
Arriving in the middle to try to resurrect a lost cause at 168-6, Curran batted with great skill.
England’s other all-rounders Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali got themselves out when well set – on 35 and 29 respectively – which summed up England’s innings.
For the first time in the series neither Jason Roy nor Jonny Bairstow was able to fire.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan had got India off to a terrific start, the opening pair showing they had learned from England’s ultra aggressive style of batting in ODIs.
And in this final match the Indians simply did it better than the tourists, with Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya keeping the tempo high. England’s bowlers came in for plenty of punishment.
Spare a thought for paceman Mark Wood, though, who not only helped to add 60 with the bat alongside Curran for the ninth wicket, but also claimed 3-34 with the ball in between being bent over double in the searing heat as if to throw up.