England left-hander Jacob Bethell conceded it was probably “strange” to face a teenage sensation like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi seven years his junior, following England’s win in the second T20I.
The third T20I between India and England also gets the date of Tuesday July 7. The first game in the series was abandoned but in Manchester England won to make it 1-0. Bethell’s unbeaten 76-run effort was an unbeaten brilliance for him, winning him the Player of the Match award.
The match also marked the international debut of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored 14 runs off 10 balls, including two sixes.
22-year-old Bethell said after the game: “Guys, when I watched him play in India I was impressed and again today his swing, man, and the overall game are just hard. He’s a pretty talented player. 7 years younger than me, it’s a little bit crazy.
Asked which of his fairest bowls for England should be considered in the top of the list for being an unbeaten 76, Bethell immediately replied, “It’s at the front”.
“Scoring centuries before has been good, but getting them in a winning cause is the best thing as a batter along with helping the team to win the match.
Knowing that they had been downed multiple times in past years, Bethell also added that their success against India is particularly gratifying.
He concluded, “We suffered some bad defeats against India in the four matches and it is good to gallop against them. I hope we can maintain that impetus for the rest of the three matches.”