'Was confident to take him on': Jos Buttler on England's plan to reverse-sweep Yuzvendra Chahal

India vs England: Jos Buttler admitted that reverse sweeping India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was on his mind and he might do that in the upcoming games as well.

If it was Jason Roy in the first two T20Is, it was Jos Buttler in the third. The England top-order have their made their intentions clear against India’s premier limited-overs spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. The moment they see Chahal introduced into the attack, they press the accelerator.

Ahmedabad: England batsman Jos Buttler plays a shot during the third T20 cricket match between India and England, at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Tuesday, March 16, 2021.(PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore) (PTI03_16_2021_000249B) (PTI)

Buttler charged down the track to greet Chahal with a huge six over long on in the first ball of his spell during the third T20I against England. The leg-spinner did comeback to get the wicket of Jason Roy in this third ball but there was no stopping Buttler. The England keeper hit another six before Chahal ended his first over.

"I felt it was a great opportunity to try and attack him (Chahal), ball swung a little bit for seamers so I thought the best time to attack spin would be in the powerplay, and probably the fact that he had success against me he might not expect me to attack him," said Buttler in a virtual press conference after England's 8-wicket win.

"I felt the right thing to and I was confident to take him on. I took a couple of risks that came off and it set me up on my way," he added.

The England batsman admitted that reverse sweeping Chahal was on his mind and he might do that in the upcoming games as well.

"Yes, I think so. (On him reverse sweeping Chahal) in certain times. He is a fantastic bowler, he has a lot of success in T20 cricket. I think we naturally have in our side the guys who are good exponents of a reverse sweep," said Buttler.

"So naturally we are gonna play that shot and it has become a big positive in T20 cricket. You got that in your armory. So it is about guys backing their options and going for that and trying to put pressure back on the bowlers," he added.

India skipper Virat Kohli played an unbeaten inning of 77 to guide India to 156/6, but the total did not prove to be enough as Buttler and Jonny Bairstow made light work of the chase to hand England a victory by eight wickets. Buttler and Bairstow remained unbeaten on 83 and 40 respectively.

With the win in the third T20I, England has now gained a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Both teams will now meet in the fourth T20I on Thursday which will be played at the same venue.

(With ANI Inputs)