India’s young fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah shone in the death like never before as his excellent final over ensured a sensational five-run victory over England in the second Twenty20 International to level the three-match series 1-1 at Nagpur on Sunday.
Needing eight runs off six balls, Bumrah, all of 23 years of age, perhaps bowled the over of his life as he restricted England to just two runs and end their innings at 139 for six in pursuit of 145.
The match seemed to be in England's bag when Jos Buttler clobbered veteran Ashish Nehra for 13 runs with two sixes in the penultimate over. However, Bumrah had other ideas, eventually finishing with figures of 2/20 in 4 overs, while his senior colleague Nehra finished with figures of 3/28.
This was the second lowest total India defended in a T20 International in the country.
The fantastic bowling performance was carried out after opener KL Rahul stood out with a breezy 71 on a surface where shot-making was difficult.
Put in to bat, Rahul's knock was the lone bright spot as India could manage a modest score before the bowlers turned the match around on its head.
England made light of the loss of openers Jason Roy and Sam Billings off successive balls in the fourth over bowled by left-arm pacer Nehra and were well on their way to pull off the win when they rode on Root's run-a-ball 38 and Ben Stokes' 38.
Root had been involved in an important third-wicket stand of 43 in 41 balls with his captain Eoin Morgan earlier as well.
Nehra came back for his second spell and got the breakthrough by dismissing Stokes leg before after the batsman had struck two sixes and two fours in his 33-ball knock.
He had been bowled in the first ball of his innings but unfortunately Amit Mishra had overstepped and Stokes batted on.
Although Nehra was hit for 16 runs in his final over, Bumrah trapped Root leg before and then clean bowled Buttler in the final over to end the visitors' hopes as Moeen Ali failed to connect the last ball with England needing six runs to win.
Earlier, Rahul batted brilliantly, but the Indian batting line-up floundered for the second match running.
India lost three wickets in the last over, including that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to end at 144 for 8. Rahul's 47-ball knock contained two sixes and six fours and his partnership of 56 with fellow Karnataka mate Manish Pandey (30 in 26 balls) was the only notable stand.
Wearing black armbands to mourn the sudden demise of India's under 19 and A team trainer Rajeev Sawant and the father of fast bowler Mohammed Shami who is not part of the squad, the home team batsmen failed to get going in earnest.
England did surprise captain Virat Kohli and Rahul by using left arm slow bowler Liam Dawson, who had replaced fast bowler Liam Plunkett in the eleven in the horses for courses change, to open the bowling with the Tymal Mills.
Kohli, in fact, had a charmed life as he top-edged Mills – who worked up good pace – behind the 'keeper for a four that eluded the left-handed grasp of Sam Billings on the boundary line – and then survived a close leg before appeal against Chris Jordan in the next over.
Kohli struck Mills for a six and a four in successive balls in the next over after surviving the leg before appeal but then was deceived by a slower ball from Jordan and holed out to long off for 21.
Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh got out for single digits – to spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali – leaving the home team at a difficult 69 for three just past the halfway mark. Raina slogged and was caught at long on while Yuvraj missed a sweep and was caught plumb in front of the stumps.
Rahul's innings was the saving grace in this period as he coolly got about getting the runs and also used his feet well against the spinners.
The innings' 100 came up in the 14th over as the Indian batsmen started attacking Dawson and leggie Rashid even as off spinner Moeen did a good job, taking 1 for 20 in four overs.
Manish Pandey, who came in at number 5 instead of Dhoni, had a lucky escape when a ball from Stokes hit the stumps as he went for a slog but failed to dislodge the bails.
Pandey survived on 10 and India's score after 15 overs was 108 for three as the English bowlers cleverly mixed it up.
Rahul was finally dismissed in the 18th over while trying to lift Jordan over the mid-wicket region but could not clear the rope and was caught by Ben Stokes to bring Dhoni to the crease with only 16 balls left in the innings.
The hosts also lost Pandey in the penultimate over, bowled by Mills, after clobbering the bowler over long on, his only boundary hit.
The former captain could not do much in the final overs and got out in the last ball of the innings. Hardik Pandya and Amit Mishra, who was included in the eleven in place of Parvez Rasool, were both run out for ducks in the same over. Jordan finished with 3 for 22.
(With inputs from PTI)