'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABf/aAAgBAQAAAAAIv//EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX/2gAIAQIQAAAAS//EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/2gAIAQMQAAAAD//EAB8QAAIBBAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwUREiEABBNRgf/aAAgBAQABPwCqKsDGCJvG71FICwjByTBA12vlsk6v6+Td+urK6ipsAGItvn//xAAaEQABBQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARAAECEhNB/9oACAECAQE/AM4UI66//8QAGBEAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhEAEkH/2gAIAQMBAT8AEysnk//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On a hot sunny day in Cardiff, Skipper Eoin Morgan elected to field first after winning the toss and this turned out to be a match-winning a decision. England pace bowlers were right on the money and didn't let the flamboyant Indian batsmen to get away.
Rohit Sharma looked out of sorts in his short stay at the crease as he top-edged a short ball of the bowling of debutant Jake Ball to handover an easy catch to wicketkeeper Jos Butler.
Shikhar Dhawan and K.L Rahul didn't last long either as both were dismissed in the 5th over. Shikhar Dhawan, in particular, was run out in a bizarre fashion. Suresh Raina and Skipper Virat Kohli added more than 50 runs for the 4th wicket but it was at a slow pace due to some excellent tight bowling by the Englishmen.
Just when Suresh Raina was looking to up the ante, he was stumped of the bowling of Adil Rashid.
Despite the lack of hits to the fence, Virat Kohli and M.S Dhoni ran well between the wickets and kept the scoreboard ticking. Virat Kohli, who was looking in ominous touch batting on 47, perished in the 18th over as he chipped one straight into the hands of the deep fielder.
M.S Dhoni and Hardik Pandya struck few lusty blows, in the end, to take India to a fighting total of 148/5 in 20 overs.
In reply, England lost Jason Roy in the 3rd over, bowled off the bowling of Umesh Yadav for 15.
Jos Butler offered an easy catch to Virat Kohli inside the ring that was dropped. But his luck ran out soon as he was caught by the same fielder 2 balls later. Yuzvendra Chahal was introduced after the power-play and this turned out to be a masterstroke as he cleaned up Joe Root for 9 of a delivery that spun into the batsman after pitching.
At 44-3, Skipper Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales played sheet anchor roles and ensured no damage was done. Both the batsmen rotated strike and ensured no wickets were given away to the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav
England kept losing wickets at the end and the match was on a knife-edge. With 12 runs required of the last over, Alex Hales struck a gigantic six and followed it up with a boundary that made sure England would win this encounter. David Willey completed the formalities by striking a boundary through mid-wicket region to bring up a comprehensive victory for the England team.
The series is levelled at 1-1 with the final T20I to be played at Bristol on Sunday.
A dejected Virat Kohli mentioned ‘’It is difficult to make a comeback after you lose 3 wickets in the power-play. The average scores here have been around 145 and I thought we were around 15 runs short. They (England batsman) played Kuldeep really well and Chahal was outstanding today. We got to brush this loss aside and move onto the next game”.
On the other hand, a happy Eoin Morgan mentioned ‘’I think we made a great comeback from Old Trafford. David Willey set the tone for us and Jake Ball was great playing his debut game. The batting unit adapted to the conditions really well and we got good partnerships, which is very important while chasing.”
Here’s how the reaction went on Social Media after England’s win:
Michael Vaughan
Harsha Bhogle
Cricketwallah
VVS Laxman
Gaurav Sethi
David Lloyd
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
