New Delhi: England pacer Jofra Archer took a subtle dig at the quality of the pitches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after his side’s thumping 125-run
win over India in the 3rd T20I at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Wednesday. Archer starred with the ball as England handed India their biggest ever defeat in T20Is to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
The pacer ran riot with the new ball, dismantling India’s top order in the 202-run chase to finish with a three-wicket haul off his three overs. Speaking after England’s dominant win, Archer said bowling in English conditions felt like a return to normal for him after struggling to adapt to “easy wickets and smaller boundaries” during the IPL in India.
Archer was part of the Rajasthan Royals squad in IPL 2026 and played a key role in helping his franchise reach the playoffs. His subtle dig at Indian pitches came after Archer was asked whether he required a different approach facing Indian batters in England, compared to India. The England pacer insisted there is greater room for error for bowlers in English conditions, compared to the IPL.
“I think it goes back to normal here,” Archer said at the post-match press conference after England thrashed India in the 3rd T20I.
“You try to bowl the ball straight on a good length. Whereas over there, because the wickets are so easy and the boundaries are so small, you have to be really, really particular. Here, I feel your margin for error is a little bit bigger,” he added.
200 isn’t safe in the IPL: Archer
Archer also pointed out that a total of 200 is often not considered safe in the IPL, highlighting the contrast between the conditions in India and England. The England pacer revealed the hosts were confident of comfortably defending the total after posting 201 runs on the board, batting first in the 3rd T20I at Trent Bridge.
“At the IPL, sometimes 200 isn’t safe. With 200 on the board on that wicket, I don’t want to say we were confident, but I felt it would have taken a really special innings to chase it down,” said Archer.
“I’m just glad everybody chipped in. Everybody who bowled got wickets today, so it was a complete bowling performance,” he added.
It was indeed a complete bowling performance from England as they bundled out India for a paltry 76 in their 202-run chase to secure a thumping victory. Archer combined with fellow pacer Josh Tongue to run riot with the new ball as the duo reduced India to 52/5 inside the Powerplay.
The game was done and dusted for the visitors after their top order collapse as they were eventually skittled out for 76 runs in just 11.4 overs. India lost a game by a margin of over 100 runs for the first time in T20Is as they suffered their biggest defeat in terms of runs in the shortest format.
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