England vs India 2018, 1st T20I: Hits and Misses 

After orchestrating a 2-0 whitewash against Ireland, India has now extended their winning streak in T20Is as hosts England were outplayed in Old Trafford, Manchester. The long-awaited Indian tour of England kick-started with India winning the toss and Virat Kohli opting to bowl against the home team in the first of three T20I games.

While England made no changes to their winning combination against Australia, India included Umesh Yadav for the injured Jasprit Bumrah. KL Rahul, too, found a place in the playing XI over Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik.

Unlike the usual overcast conditions at Manchester, it was hot and humid with the track ideal for batting. Despite a blistering start to their innings, England posted a below-par target of 160 in their quota of 20 overs.

India ranked fourth in the T20I format, went on to defeat the second-placed English side by 8 wickets and in the process, registered their seventh consecutive T20I win.

Find out which players impressed from both the sides and who will have to pull up their socks before the next encounter.

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#5 Hit: Jos Butler

After his recent success in the Indian Premier League, Jos Butler was promoted to open the innings. Butler, who has been in red-hot form, had scored six half-centuries in the last seven T20 appearances.

In the opening game of the tour, he went on to register yet another half-century as he scored 69 runs from 46 balls before being dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav. Butler’s innings helped England post a decent score as the home side were struggling in the middle-overs. With eight boundaries and two sixes, Butler showcased his ramp shots as well as reverse sweeps at will.

Unfortunately, it was a one-man show from Butler as none of his teammates gave him support to post a daunting total. England would want Butler to keep performing in the same way for the next two months across all three formats.

(L-R) Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow failed to impress (Photo: FB/England Cricket)

#4 Miss: England Middle Order

England was cruising at 95-2 in 11.3 overs when Alex Hales was clean bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. It was up to the experienced middle order to take charge and take England past 180. On the contrary, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root fell cheaply in quick succession.

Morgan scored just 7 runs while the other two were dismissed for a golden duck. All three fell to Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling. Morgan was trying to slog sweep out of the ground, but mistimed one and was caught by Kohli in the deep. Bairstow and Root fell in succession in a similar manner. Both were stumped by Dhoni while they were trying to defend on the front foot.

The middle order needs to sort their spin woes before the next encounter as India bank on their spin department.

KL Rahul scored his second T20I century and remained unbeaten on 101 (Photo: FB/KL Rahul)

#3 Hit: KL Rahul

After an impressive season in the IPL, KL Rahul was selected in the squad and given an opportunity in the first game itself. Slotted at one-down, Rahul came to the crease in the first over after Dhawan was clean bowled by David Willey.

Rahul made a mockery of the run chase as he went after the bowlers from ball one. His timing was on point and so was his shot selection. Rahul was unbeaten as he registered his second T20I century in just 53 balls. With 10 boundaries and five sixes, Rahul made 101 from 54 deliveries.

If Rahul continues to perform in a similar manner, he may just become India's number three on a regular basis.

Rashid was economical but Moeen couldn't contain the Indian batsmen (Photo: FB/Moeen Ali)

#2 Miss: The England twin-spin duo

England spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali were not able to control the power hitting of KL Rahul. While the Indian counterparts Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal gave away 58 runs in 8 overs, Rashid and Moeen conceded 62 runs in 6.2 overs between them.

The Indian spinners picked up five wickets in their spell whereas Rashid managed to take the solitary wicket of Rohit Sharma, that too, late in the innings. England will have to strengthen their spin department as their counterparts are known to be good players of spin.

Kuldeep picked up his career-best figures of 5-24 (Photo: FB/Kuldeep Yadav)

#1 Hit: Kuldeep Yadav

The 23-year-old left-arm chinaman picked up his career-best figures of 5 for 24 in his quota of four overs. He broke the backbone of the England batting line-up as he dismissed Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Jos Buttler. Morgan, Bairstow and Root were dismissed in a span of four balls.

It was evident from the shot selection that the Englishmen were not able to pick the deliveries from his hand and were bamboozled by the turn. Yadav’s form is crucial for India’s success in the T20Is as well as the limited overs.