Jofra Archer produced yet another Player of the Match display, helping England register a 125-run victory over India in the third game of the five-match ENG vs IND T20 2026 series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Fresh from his Player of the Series-winning performance against New Zealand in the preceding Test series, Archer produced another incisive spell with the new ball, returning figures of 3/29.
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Archer, who finished as Rajasthan Royals' leading wicket-taker during IPL 2026 with 25 wickets in 16 matches, used his trademark pace, bounce and accuracy to provide England with early breakthroughs.
Bowling consistently in excess of 145 kmph, he dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, India captain Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel during a decisive powerplay spell.
The right-arm quick first accounted for fellow Rajasthan Royals star Sooryavanshi, who gloved a sharp 145 kmph short ball through to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler after a brisk 13 off five deliveries.
Archer then had Iyer caught in the deep before inducing an outside edge from Axar Patel with another lively delivery to leave India at 52/5 inside the first six overs.
Josh Tongue complemented Archer from the other end, claiming 4/28 as India were bowled out for 76 in 11.4 overs while chasing 202.
“Happy to contribute,” Archer said after the match. “You're bowling at world-class batters, have to keep hitting the spot. Surprised it turned around so quickly. Some balls went to boundaries, got lucky with a bad ball getting a wicket. Tongue and I are similar, he'll get a wicket if I don't. Bowled with him all summer, enjoyed bouncing ideas off him.”
The total was India's second-lowest in T20 Internationals, while the 125-run margin became their biggest defeat in the format.
The Player of the Match performance took Archer's tally to four wickets in two matches in the series, making him the joint-leading wicket-taker.
The Rajasthan Royals quick has now claimed 61 wickets in 47 T20Is for England at an economy rate of 8.37, with career-best figures of 4/33, which also came against India in 2021.
