Eoin Morgan inspires England to victory over India in T20 international

Eoin Morgan bats during his match-winning innings

Birmingham, Sep 7 (IANS) Mahendra Singh Dhoni's poor judgement in refusing singles in two balls in the last over saw India going down by three runs to England in a thrilling finish in the one-off Twenty20 international at Edgbaston here on Sunday.

A blistering 71 off 31 balls from captain Eoin Morgan helped England post an imposing total of 180 for seven. Morgan, who hit seven sixes and three fours, was also adjudged the Man of the Match.

Chasing a target of 181, India needed 16 runs in the last over. Dhoni, who remained unbeaten on 27 from 18 balls, refused to take a single in the second and the fifth ball and it left him a tough task of scoring five from the last ball. But instead of hitting a six, Dhoni managed to swing it towards the leg side for a single as India finished in 177 for five.

Dhoni's decision to retain the strike and not attempting singles in the last over baffled many as his partner Ambati Rayudu (3 not out) is also a clean striker but was making his debut in T20 international.

It was Virat Kohli's 66 that put India on course, but Dhoni's poor decision cost India the match. Kohli struck nine fours and a six in his 41-ball innings while Shikhar Dhawan (33) and Suresh Raina (25) also came up with valuable contributions.

England pacer Harry Gurney and Chris Woakes put on a fine performance in the last two overs. India needed 26 runs in the last two overs an with a seasoned finisher in Dhoni at the crease the visitors seemed the favourites. It was impossible for the Indian batsmen to get the big hits. They managed just six sixes in the whole innings while England had 11, seven of them hit by Morgan.

Gurney, playing only his second T20 international, bowled an impressive penultimate conceding just nine runs. Woakes despite being hit for a six in the first ball of the last over held his nerve to take England to a win.

Earlier in the day, a blistering 71 off 31 balls from Morgan helped England recover from an unimpressive start to put a big score on the board. Alex Hales (40) and Joe Root (26) also made valuable contributions.

The win marked the end of a tour in which England came from 0-1 behind to win the Test series 3-1, but were beaten heavily by a similar margin in the ODIs.

The following is the scoreboard of the only Twenty20 international:

England

Jason Roy c Rahane b Mohammed Shami 8

Alex Hales c Rahane b Jadeja 40

Moeen Ali c Rahane b Mohit Sharma 0

Joe Root c Rayudu b Karn Sharma 26

Eoin Morgan c Rahane b Mohammed Shami 71

Jos Buttler c Rayudu b Mohammed Shami 10

Ravi Bopara not out 21

Chris Woakes run out (Dhoni) 0

Extras (lb 3, nb 1) 4

Total (for seven wickets in 20 overs) 180

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Roy, 2.5 overs), 2-27 (Ali, 3.1), 3-75 (Hales, 9.5), 4-85 (Root, 11.4), 5-130 (Buttler, 17.1), 6-166 (Morgan, 19.2), 7-180 (Woakes, 19.6)

Bowling

Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-37-0

Mohit Sharma 4-0-39-1

Mohammed Shami 4-0-38-3

Karn Sharma 4-0-28-1

Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-35-1

India

Ajinkya Rahane b Ali 8

Shikhar Dhawan b Woakes 33

Virat Kohli c Hales b Finn 66

Suresh Raina b Gurney 25

Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 27

Ravindra Jadeja run out (Bopara/Finn) 7

Ambati Rayudu not out 3

Extras (lb 4, w 4) 8

Total (for five wickets in 20 overs) 177

Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Rahane, 1.2 overs), 2-89 (Dhawan, 10.1), 3-131 (Kohli, 14.2), 4-145 (Raina, 16.5), 5-153 (Jadeja, 17.4)

Bowling

Steve Finn 4-0-28-1

Moeen Ali 3-0-31-1

Harry Gurney 4-0-29-1

Chris Woakes 4-0-43-1

Ravi Bopara 1-0-14-0

James Tredwell 4-0-28-0

Toss: England, who chose to bat

Player of the match: Eoin Morgan (England)

Umpires: Ian Gould and Tim Robinson

TV umpire: Rob Bailey

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)