Superb bowling from the Indian bowlers helped the visitors record a 49-run win over England in the second T20I at Edgbaston and seal the three-match series 2-0 on Saturday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who claimed three wickets for 15 runs from 3 overs was the pick of the Indian bowlers. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah (2/10) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/10) offered him good support as India bundled out England for a meagre 121 runs in 17 overs.
After being sent to bat first, India rode on Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 46 of 29 deliveries to post a total of 170 runs in 20 overs. For England, all-rounder Chris Jordan picked up four wickets (4/27), while debutant Richard Gleeson impressed with three wickets, giving away just 15 runs in four overs.
India Post 170/8 Batting First
Unlike in the first T20I, captain Rohit Sharma opened the innings for India alongside wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant who had sat out of the opener to rest, after the fifth Test earlier this week. Rohit received a reprieve in the fourth ball of the first over from David Willey after being dropped by Jason Roy at backward point. He made full use of the opportunity by sending one over the crowd in the last ball of the same over.
Rohit and Pant took on the English attack with aplomb, scoring 17 runs of the third over from seamer Willey, forcing England skipper Jos Buttler to bring in experienced all-rounder Mooen Ali into the scheme of things.
Ali could not stop the onslaught, giving away 11 runs in the fourth over as India cruised to 43 runs without the loss of any wicket. Rohit, who seemed to be in good touch, however, departed the very next over. The Indian skipper, who had scored 31 runs from 20 balls tried to pull a short delivery from debutant Richard Gleeson, only to top edge it, as it landed into the hands of a diving Buttler.
Meanwhile, there seemed to be no change in fortunes for India’s star batter Virat Kohli who came in next and had to depart for one run as he tried to hit a length ball from Gleeson onto the leg side. Kohli's mistimed hit took an edge and flew up towards backward point where David Malan completed an excellent catch to offer Gleeson his second wicket of the day.
Pant continued the attack on the other side taking India’s total to 61/2 at the end of powerplay. It went from bad to worse for India as Pant departed the next ball, edging one to Buttler while trying to hit Gleeson through the leg side. The Indian wicket-keeper scored 26 runs from 15 balls at a strike rate of 173.33.
34-year-old Gleeson’s spell wreaked havoc upon the Indian batting line-up as the visitors score went from 61/1 to 61/3 in just one over. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya entered the middle and steered the Indian innings to 86/3 by the end of 10 overs. However, there seemed to be no end to India’s batting woes as Suryakumar (15 runs of 11 balls), and Hardik (12 from 15 balls) got out in the next over to successive deliveries from England all-rounder Chris Jordan. At this point, India were reeling at 89/5.
The visitors then lost veteran batter Dinesh Karthik (12 runs of 17 balls) to a run out while trying to finish a third run off Harry Brook’s over, falling short of the crease as wicket-keeper Buttler collected a throw and broke the stumps.
With Karthik back in the dressing room, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of Ravindra Jadeja, who also returned to the side after being rested in the first T20I. The Indian all-rounder made the scoreboard tick with Harshal Patel at the other end. Harshal played a little cameo, hitting a quick-fire 13 off six balls but perished soon after trying to steer a short ball from Jordan over to deep third into the hands of a waiting Gleeson.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who arrived next did not last long either as man-in-form Jordan grabbed his fourth wicket of the day to send back the Indian seamer for just two runs off 10 balls.
Meanwhile, Jadeja who was still in the middle scored a crucial 46 off 29 balls to finish off the proceedings for Team India. The experinced campaigner displayed some key hitting in the last two overs, taking India’s total to 170/8 in the designated 20 overs.
Indian Bowlers Restrict England to 121 Runs
Chasing 170, England got off to the worst possible start as Jason Roy departed for a golden duck while trying to poke a length delivery outside off from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to give Rohit catching practice at slip.
India put England on the backfoot once again as captain Jos Buttler (4 runs off 5 balls) nicked a ball that was swinging outside off from Bhuvneshwar into the hands of wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, who was standing close to the stumps unlike usual.
The whole Indian team appealed but the umpire seemed disinterested, forcing captain Rohit to take a review. The review eventually confirmed that the English skipper had indeed edged it into the hands of Pant, who showed excellent reflexes.
With England struggling at 11/2, Liam Livingstone joined David Malan in the middle. The duo tried to drive the innings forward for the hosts but Jasprit Bumrah had other ideas. The Indian seamer sent Livingstone (15 runs of 9 balls) packing with a slow off-cutter that castled the English batter’s stumps.
Meanwhile, Malan and new batter Harry Brook managed to take England's total to a paltry 36/3 by the end of the powerplay.
Captain Rohit’s idea to introduce a spinner into the fold after powerplay paid dividends as Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Brook (8 runs off 9 balls), who tried to hit him to long-on. The England batter's shot failed to cover the distance as it landed safely into the hands of Suryakumar Yadav.
Veteran all-rounder Moeen Ali joined Malan at the crease, with England’s score reading 41/4 after 6.4 overs. However, there seemed to be no end to England’s troubles as Malan’s (18 runs of 25 balls) precarious resistance finally ended after he tried to reverse sweep a full toss from Chahal into the hands of Harshal Patel at point, offering the leg-spinner his second wicket of the day.
Newcomer Sam Curran (2 runs off 4 balls) also departed soon as he tried to hit Bumrah over the ring in the 10th over, only to mistime it into the hands of Hardik Pandya, who had back-pedalled from mid-off to take an excellent catch.
Ali, who looked like England’s last hope pushed the hosts to 94 runs from 61/6 after 11 overs. But the all-rounder's resistance ended when he mishit a shot off Hardik's ball over to mid-off, straight into skipper Rohit’s hand after making 35 runs off 21 balls.
Then on, it turned even worse for the hosts as they lost Chris Jordan (1 run of 1 ball) in the very next ball due to a terrible mix-up in the middle with David Willey. Following Jordan's dismissal England were struggling at 95/8 in 14.3 overs.
Wickets kept falling for England as debutant Richard Gleeson departed the next over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s ball, managing just two runs of three balls.
England's misery ended when Harshal Patel wrapped up the day’s play with a perfect yorker to dismiss Matt Parkison as England got bowled out for 121 runs with three overs to spare. The victory helped India clinch the three-match T20I series 2-0.
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