"The main thing is we didn't win" - Sam Curran disappointed despite an 83-ball 95* in the final ODI
Sam Curran fought a lone battle for England in the final ODI against the Indian cricket team. The English all-rounder smashed an 83-ball 95* after coming out to bat at number eight in a run chase of 330 at the MCA Stadium.
Unfortunately, Sam Curran could not score 14 runs off the last over bowled by T Natarajan, as India won the game by seven runs. Although Curran ended up on the losing side, he took the Man of the Match award for his remarkable performance in Pune.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Sam Curran expressed his disappointment after falling short in the final over.
"The main thing is we didn't win, but really happy with the way I played. I love winning, that's the way I play my cricket, but it was a great experience. I haven't done something like that for a while especially for England. Really pleasing to do that but in the end we lost, so obviously I'm disappointed," said Sam Curran.
England were down to 168/6 in 25.4 overs when Sam Curran joined hands with Moeen Ali in the middle. Just a few overs later, Ali lost his wicket to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, Curran did not lose his confidence and attacked the Indian bowlers to take the game to the final over.
The equation came down to 23 runs off 18 deliveries at one stage, but a brilliant bowling performance from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, and T Natarajan denied England a victory.
He had six deliveries there and showed why he's a good bowler: Sam Curran reflects on T Natarajan's final over
Sam Curran was on strike when T Natarajan came in to bowl the 50th over. Curran attempted to take two runs off the first ball, but slipped while turning for the second run, which resulted in Mark Wood being run out. Reece Topley took a single off the next delivery to bring Curran back on strike.
Curran tried his best to send the ball outside the boundary line. However, he could only hit four runs off the final four deliveries. The Player of the Match heaped praise on T Natarajan after the contest.
"I got a message from the dugout as well just to try and face the majority of the balls and try and take the game as deep as possible. We saw when we bowled in most of games, it was really difficult to defend. It was a small boundary and a really good wicket. Fair play to Natarajan - he had six deliveries there and showed why he's a good bowler," Sam Curran added.
Curran signed off, saying he was looking forward to playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL season.