Reece Topley has hailed Jos Buttler’s composure under pressure after England prevented India from claiming a clean sweep of the Twenty20 series despite Suryakumar Yadav’s buccaneering century.
After England bounced back from sluggish batting displays at the Ageas Bowl and Edgbaston to post 215 for seven at Trent Bridge, Topley trapped Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant as India slipped to 31 for three .
But Yadav threatened to rob Buttler of his first victory as England’s full-time captain of the white ball, showing his power and audacity with 14 fours and six sixes in a stellar 117 from just 55 balls.
He played almost alone to bring the equation back to the required 25 on the last nine balls after England held off Moeen Ali until the penultimate, but the off-spinner delivered a point before Yadav finished a wider long-off delivery. .
It proved the defining moment as India slipped to a 17-point loss, settling for a 2-1 series win, but what struck left-arm dressmaker Topley was his skippering behavior as the tension mounted.
“I kept looking at Jos and couldn’t really tell the game situation from when we were on top to chasing the balls,” said Topley, whose three of 22 came in a day in which 413 points were scored.
“It is to his credit and one of his great qualities that he will bring as captain. In a high-scoring game, it’s easy to get carried away by emotions.
“Almost a skill in itself, as much as throwing slower balls and whatever, it’s about keeping a cool head and not getting wrapped up in everything.”
Buttler had gotten off to an inauspicious start since taking over from Eoin Morgan and England entering that dead rubber with question marks on his stick after two failed chases in that series.
They opted to strike first and Dawid Malan contributed a sparkling 77 on 39 balls, including five sixes against a largely second-string Indian bowling team with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah rested.
After just a third win in their last 10 T20s, Topley reflected on how teams are adapting to England’s style which he believes could be crucial to their preparations for the World Cup three months from now.
“We’ve been trendsetters in how we approach the game,” he said. “It’s interesting to see how other teams have adapted to counter our way of playing. This is valuable information before the World Cup.
“The last two performances weren’t ideal, but you trust the process and that’s a mark that when you come to tournaments will pay off: being brave and aggressive and always being on the cutting edge.
“It’s a long-term goal, it’s not necessarily about this series, it’s the T20 World Cup – how are we going to play to achieve that?”
With several fast bowlers on the sidelines, Topley resurrected his England career this year after several back injuries and performed admirably in six T20s, bolstering his own World Cup hopes.
Averaging 24 with a save rate of just seven runs per over, Topley is happy with what he has achieved but admitted the recent upheaval, including Matthew Mott taking over as head coach limited, means that he cannot be sure of anything.
“Since this year, I think I have taken every opportunity that has come my way,” he added. “But new coach, new captain, there are new people to try to impress. In my head, I think it’s back to square one to try to impress the right people.
Topley marveled at a sleeve from Yadav “that was so, so unique. I have never seen or encountered anything like it,” with the Indian batter who scored a first international century with just 48 balls.
“It was one of the best T20s I’ve seen,” India captain Rohit said. “You only see this once in a while.
“We know his quality, he has shots all over the ground, maneuvering on the pitch, playing all around the pitch. It’s a very rare quality a hitter can have and Surya definitely has it all.
“It’s a good sign for us to have a player like him in the team and I’m sure he’s going to get better and better from now on.”
