Wasim Jaffer posts a cryptic tweet to suggest the Indian Team of the changes in the playing XI ahead of the third Test against England

Cryptically the former India opener Wasim Jaffer has suggested Team India of some changes in their playing XI in the third ODI against England. India and England will play the decider of the series on March 28 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Jaffer feels that Team India should include Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI for the third ODI. India suffered a 6 wickets defeat in the second ODI against England. They chased down a total of 337 runs with 39 balls to spare.

Both Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal have not been part of the ODI series so far. Jaffer posted a picture to suggest Team India of the changes. The former India international also pointed towards Chahal’s chess-playing ability. Chahal had played chess at the international level before starting to play cricket.

Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer wrote on Twitter, “Chess players can be seen in the late afternoon sun in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NY”.

Here is the tweet:

Good morning @imVkohli a photo to brighten up your morning. And yes, good luck for the game tomorrow😉 #INDvsENG #decode pic.twitter.com/Vyfl7f24u1

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 27, 2021

How the match fared out

Coming to the game, India scored 336 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their 50 overs. KL Rahul scored a century ( 109 runs off 114 balls) band Rishabh Pant ( 77 off 40) and Virat Kohli (66 off 79) scored half-centuries each. Chasing the total, England secured a comfortable win against the hosts. 

Roy and Bairstow yet again stitched together a quickfire hundred runs partnership for the first wicket. The duo scored 110 runs in just 84 deliveries. Rohit Sharma provided the breakthrough with a superb bit of fielding to run out Jason Roy. Ben Stokes then joined hands with Bairstow and took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners. They scored 175 runs for the second wicket before India dismissed both of them in quick succession.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke the partnership between them by dismissing Ben Stokes for 99. Stokes scored 99 in just 52 balls. His innings included four fours and ten sixes. Just after adding two runs, Bairstow lost his wicket to Prasidh Krishna after having scored 124 runs. After 3 balls, he castled Buttler’s stumps with a peach of a yorker.

Jonny Bairstow was the highest run-scorer of the innings scoring 124 runs off 112 balls. His opening partner Jason Roy scored 55 runs off 52 balls. Ben Stokes came in and scored 99 runs off 52 balls. When they lost three wickets in close succession, Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone guided them to a 6 wickets victory with 6.3 overs to spare. The series is now nicely poised at 1-1, with the series decider at the same venue on March 28.

Virat Kohli praised Bairstow and Stokes after the match

At the post-match presentation, captain Virat Kohli praised the England team for the dominating performance. He said that the way Bairstow and Stokes batted, gave them no chance on the field.

“I think we set up quite a decent total. It was going to be challenging if we stayed in the game for long periods. We started well with the new ball, with our lines and lengths but England found a way to hang on and got a century partnership,” Kohli was quoted as saying after the game.

“We did falter a bit at times but mostly, that was some of the best hittings that you’ll ever see. Never had a chance during their partnership (Stokes-Bairstow), that’s how good they were. Don’t think dew was much of a factor. Maybe the wicket settled a bit better but that’s no excuse. We just defended a score two days ago,” he added.