Hello and welcome to Sportstar's highlights/coverage of the second T20I between India and England from the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
A thumping win of resounding proportion puts India and England one-all in the five-match series. A new age Indian side finally shed its conservative demeanours with the bat as debutant Ishan Kishan took to the India blues with sheer nonchalance, setting up the chase in fine fashion and became the second Indian to hit a fifty on debut in T20Is. If the six-fest from the pocket dynamite weren't enough to dish the Englishmen a pounding, the Indian captain rose back from a lull to master yet another chase.
Kohli's return to form by acing all his trademark shots adds more colour to India's win as England was completely outplayed throughout the day. Suryakumar Yadav is the unlucky debutant as he doesn't get his chance to wield the willow. Nevertheless, much like the Test series, India has bounced back in style with the rest of the series set up beautifully amid an electrifying atmosphere at Ahmedabad. That's all from us tonight, folks. Good night!
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India 166/3 after 17.5 overs: VIRAT KOHLI FINISHES IT IN STYLE! And so becomes the first batsman to 3000 T20I runs as well! Vintage stuff fromt the Indian captain as he aces that wristy flick to the square-leg boundary off Jordan first-up. Kohli then closes the match with a stupendous swivel pull over fine leg to lead India to a thumping seven-wicket win to make a resounding comeback into the series!
India 154/3 after 17 overs: Archer keeps it full with his pacer flaring up. Kohli manages to send one to the boundary, not timed well, but India rakes in the runs and is nearly home with 11 needed off three overs.
India 147/3 after 16 overs: Rashid sneaks in a brilliant over while nearly sending Kohli back to the dugout. A fine slider beats Kohli's bat and Buttler knocks of the bails in a flash. However, Kohli has managed to rope in some part of his toe back into the crease according to the third-umpire. The replays were not conclusive enough to be certain of that but that's the final call we have tonight.
India 143/3 after 15 overs: And the Indian captain brings up his fifty in smashing fashion! Steps down in typical Virat-style and swivels it over the long-on fence in a welcome return to form. India is running home with the mercurial Kohli leading the chase here.
India 133/3 after 14 overs: Jordan to Pant. OUT! The Pant blitzkrieg comes to an end.
Pant began the over with a cracking stomp through cover with a powerful drive. He follows it up with a walloping lofted slog of the same and the fans hit the crescendo. Jordan rushes one onto Pant as he brings in semi-flick and mistimes it. The ball lands comfortably in Bairstow's hands at deep midwicket.
Rishabh Pant c Bairstow b Jordan 26 (13b 2x4 2x6)
India 119/2 after 13 overs: Curran rallies through a fine over and feels to experiment with the last ball, pays the price. A slower, short ball awaits Pant at the other end, licking his lips, for the juicy gift sent his way. Pant rocks back and sends it rocketing through long-off.
India 111/2 after 12 overs: Pant gets into the act as he smashes one deep into the stands over deep midwicket. My word, the raw power on display tonight has been absolutely fabulous. Rashid has lost mojo against some gun Indian left-handers here!
India 99/2 after 11 overs: Sam Curran comes back to force new man Pant and Kohli to move around with the singles in a five-run over. India, however, has the tether firm on this chase.
India 94/2 after 10 overs: Kishan departs after a 28-ball fifty on debut! Reaches the milestone in some style with two massive sixes down the ground! Rashid is flummoxed but has his fortune as a cheeky Kishan tries the reverse-sweep but misses. A sensational innings brought to an abrupt end as England has something to cheer. Well played, Ish as there was no hint of nerves in a clean-slog exhibition! Ishan Kishan lbw b Rashid 56 (32b 5x4 4x6)
India 80/1 after 9 overs: Archer ups the heat
as he keeps Kohli and Kishan restrained to singles in the over. India would not budge much at this point.
India 75/1 after 8 overs: Kishan in cruise control. He welcomes Adil Rashid with a delectable sweep past square leg and India continues to motor on. The 'free-spirited' that Kohli insisted on before the first T20I is finally on display with the debutant Kishan not flinching one bit. Kishan gets a massive reprieve, however, Ben Stokes has dropped him at long-on! Of all the men in action, it's big Ben that has crumbled under the lights.
India 67/1 after 7 overs: Electrifying stuff from Kishan! He pummels Ben Stokes for a cracking pull for six after big Ben was sent for a top-edge six by Kohli from a free-hit! India, well and truly and top with the breezy start from the K-K combo.
India 50/1 after 6 overs: Ishan Kishan has arrived and how! Nothing seems to have changed in his approach at the big stage as he welcomes Tom Curran with a blistering six down the ground. Kishan follows up with two more boundaries in dismissive fashion - one, a thumping drive through covers while he rocks back for the final ball to pull behind square. Kishan's blitzkrieg also takes India past 50 in the powerplay!
India 33/1 after 5 overs: Jordan into the attack and Kohli is dropped instantly by Buttler!
A wry bowl running down and Kohli attemps a glance at it. The edge storms past Buttler's left who drops a difficult catch there. Massive moment in the game. Kohli follows the reprieve with a stellar swivel pull behind square leg! And with the boundary,
Kohli goes past 12,000 runs as a captain in international cricket!
India 22/1 after 4 overs: The master rocks back to crack a dashing pull through mid-wicket. Shades of Kohli's best on that as he takes Archer for a ride. Arches bounces back at the end over as he dishes a couple of shorter deliveries to the Indian captain.
India 15/1 after 3 overs: No jitters for Kishan as he pulls Curran over deep mid-wicket for a boundary. Curran finds the spot again as Kohli and Kishan exchange strike for the rest of the over.
India 7/1 after 2 overs: Kishan starts his India career with a boundary. A glance of the legs against Archer races past the third-man boundary and skipper Kohli has gotten off the mark as well.
India 0/1 after 1 over: SAM CURRAN BEGINS WITH A BANG! Sends back KL Rahul with a genuine away-swinger after a cracking start with five in-swingers in a superb maiden over! What a start for England! Curran forces the ball in-ward to put Rahul on the backfoot. Some brilliant work from the youngster as he hits the right lines first-up in this second innings and the outswinger does its job to find the edge in fine fashion. Rahul's woes continue as his recent T20 scores read: 0, 1, 0. KL Rahul c †Buttler b Curran 0 (6b)
The chase is on! Debutant Ishan Kishan walks out with KL Rahul as Morgan's men take the field in a bid to restrict India that bats further deep today. Sam Curran takes the new ball.
Can the dashing southpaw recreate some of his IPL blitz here?
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India has done well to rally back in this second affair with Kohli's bowlers nagging the Englishmen throughout. The famed batting order failed to employ the big strokes as the Indian bowlers mixed up the lengths with a slew of variations. The pacers Bhuvi, Thakur and Pandya donned their roles in style at the death to restrict England much below 200 - something that seemed assured at the halfway-mark. India, will not have it easy against a probing English bowling lineup as the chase begins soon after!
England 164/6 after 20 overs: Thakur to Stokes. OUT! Ben Stokes' struggles with a slower ball eventually casts his downfall. Excellent control from Thakur at the death. The slower balls have landed on point with the ball falling low onto the batsmen after pitching on the surface. Curran, the new man, fails to connect two but finally finds the boundary as he sends the last ball down the ground. Thakur and India will be happy campers as they have done well to pull England back under 180 on this surface! Ben Stokes c Pandya b Thakur 24 (21b 1x4)
England 158/5 after 19 overs: The boundaries have dried up drastically but Stokes bludgeons one down the ground, nearly sending Bhuvi with the ball down the ground with some searing force!
England 149/5 after 18 overs: Thakur to Morgan. OUT! The deception works as Thakur snaps the England skipper! Thakur begins the over with the slower ball sitting up off the length and Morgan has no clue whatsoever as he finds the thick edge. The ball lobs straight up and offers a simple catch to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps. Eoin Morgan c †Pant b Thakur 28 (20b 4x4)
England 142/4 after 17 overs: Terrific comeback from Hardik and India here! Hardik aces the slower one to Stokes, forcing the southpaw err in his timing. This has been an excellent comeback from India post the halfway mark and it would hope for a top finish.
England 135/4 after 16 overs: Excellent over from Bhuvneshwar! Rushes on the deliveries in a yorker length, forcing both Morgan and Stokes to exchange strike with singles scooped out of the probing length.
England 129/4 after 15 overs: Chahal bowls out with a nine-run over. With Morgan and Stokes at the crease under the circumstances, this has been a decisive over in reducing England's scoring rate.
England 120/4 after 14 overs: Sundar to Bairstow. OUT! Suryakumar Yadav has a massive relief on his face! Bairstow went for the biggie first ball in the over and SKY dropped a tough chance as the ball soared over the boundary for six. Sundar managed to induce the shot once again from Bairstow who struggles to time it well and Surya gets another chance to redeem himself. The ball juggles once from his hands but the debutant has managed to hold onto it! Jonny Bairstow c Yadav b Washington Sundar 20 (15b 1x4 1x6)
England 111/3 after 13 overs: Three lucky boundaries for Morgan off Thakur! Thakur fends one in quickly and the under-edge carries past Pant to the boundary. Morgan slashes another wide short ball over covers and Iyer gives in after a good run to save the boundary, the misfield concedes the second boundary off the over. A frustrated Thakur then dishes a shorter-delivery aimed at Morgan and it hits the helmet before deflecting to the third-man boundary. Fortune favours the England skip at the moment!
England 97/3 after 12 overs: Sundar to Roy. OUT! A skier from Roy and Bhuvneshwar completes a stellar catch at deep square leg! Consecutive scalps of the England opener for Sundar. Roy misses out on a fifty as he goes all guns blazing against a juicy half-volley from Sundar but fails to connect it well. The ball has a good 10 seconds in the air, towering through the air, before Bhuvneshwar latched onto a diving catch to his left near the fence. Jason Roy c Kumar b Washington Sundar 46 (35b 4x4 2x6)
England 91/2 after 11 overs: Chahal seemed to have kept Roy and Bairstow with a series of short-balls, straight in line with the stumps. Bairstow seems to turn the tide with a weird swat off the shorter delivery down the ground and the silky outfield does the rest!
England 83/2 after 10 overs: Pandya attempts to keep the new man Bairstow quiet, but boy, Roy and Bairstow are lightning quick between the stumps. England has collected 13 runs without a boundary in this over, highlighting another feature of its batsmen. India is being forced to search for different ways to put the batsmen under pressure. Morgan, Stokes and the Curran brothers with a certain Jofra Archer are yet to come to bat. No pressure, eh?
England 70/2 after 9 overs: Chahal to Malan. OUT! And this time Chahal has his man. Malan seemed to a bit streaky as he employed the sweep against Chahal. The leggie hit the pads off the first ball of the over, a close call but umpire Anil Chaudhary negates the cries from the Indians. Chahal comes back with a similar delivery - short and straight - as Malan goes the sweep and misses. The umpire denies once again but Yuzi is adamant to go for a review. The replays suggest three reds and the world no.1 batsman has to walk back! England,however, finishes the over in style as Roy reverse-sweeps Chahal twice to the boundary through backward point. Dawid Malan lbw b Chahal 24 (23b 4x4)
England 64/1 after 8 overs: Malan and Roy make the move!
Malan slashes a cracking drive off Hardik through the covers first ball and has put him under pressure. Hardik continues to bowl short to Roy and he flat-bats one down the ground in some style as the boundaries begin to flow for England!
England 51/1 after 7 overs: Chahal puts Roy under the pump but the dashing opener dishes out of trouble with yet another six over long-on! Jeez, this ability to free itself out of trouble with the big boundaries puts England on a different pedestal in T20s. With the six, England has crossed 50 as well!
Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack. Just a single over for Thakur up-front.
England 44/1 after 6 overs: Fine start from Pandya as he keeps it tight, attacking the stumps. Roy and Malan fail to make extra use of the powerplay at the end of six overs with no boundaries coming up in this over. This is a massive boost for India that Pandya is back to his bowling routines in full tilt.
Hardik Pandya into the attack for the last over of the powerplay.
England 37/1 after 5 overs: Excellent start from Thakur as he troubles Malan instantly. Thakur rushes one onto Malan's thighs as he aims to slide it through backward square. The ball lobs off the edge and nearly carries on the full to Chahal! Thakur follows it up with another nippy delivery outside off that finds the edge off Malan and it flies through a vacant slip cordon.
Shardul Thakur replaces Bhuvneshwar.
England 30/1 after 4 overs: Sundar keeps the line a lot straighter to quell the slogs and nearly has Malan trapped in front of the stumps with the arm ball that slides in. This England lineup is not budged by such scares and Malan deals a blow back with a long hit down the ground over the boundary.
England 23/1 after 3 overs: Roy is in the mood as he advances to Bhuvneshwar on length and heaves one through to the square leg boundary. Bhuvneshwar deftly takes off the pace to slightly set Roy and Malan off-guard but the pair sneaks in 11 runs from the over nevertheless.
England 12/1 after 2 overs: A massive slog over long-on from Jason Roy welcomes Sundar into the attack. Sundar, however, makes quick amends in his line to restrain the batsmen from swinging freely.
England 5/1 after 1 over: Bhuvneshwar to Buttler. OUT! Buttler sent back for a duck!
Wrapped straight onto the pads and the umpire raises his finger instantly. Looked a shade out of the leg-stump and Buttler walks back without going for the review. Bhuvi begins well as he beats the edge of new Malan. Malan follows it up with a cracking cut through point to the boundary.
Jos Buttler lbw Bhuvneshwar 0 (1b).
England openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler walk out to the middle as Kohli and Co. take the field. Bhuvneshwar Kumar to operate with the new ball.
Interesting to note that India will have only five bowlers which means Hardik Pandya will need to go full tilt.
Game time, folks. We are set for Super Sunday action!
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KL Rahul in T20Is for India since 2020: Leading the roost but has hit a rough patch lately. Can KL turn it around tonight to help India level 1-1?
So, India make a face-lift in its dynamics for the game as it goes batting heavy even as Rohit Sharma misses out. Kohli, however, will only have five specialist bowlers at his disposal as they take on a fiery England batting lineup.
Dream moment for the pair. Ishan and SKY become the first Indians to make their international debut in the same match.
TOSS: India wins the Toss, elects to bowl
PITCH REPORT:
Minimal grass on the surface unlike the first T20I. Depicts a firm exterior that will be conducive to batting. Good to note that there was no dew in the first T20I but the pitch remains a favourite for a chase for the side that wins the toss, however, batting first will present a cracking surface as well. England's nippy bowlers will have the edge once again going into the match.
UPDATE: Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan will make their debuts! The dynamic duo have been their India caps in the huddle ahead of the toss.
6:08PM: A couple of selection headaches is bound to happen for India as it would yearn a little more pace up front with the ball. Navdeep Saini, a potential contender, could come in with one of the three spinners making way. The major question would fall on the inclusion of Rohit Sharma , will a confident Kohli persist with the "couple of games' rest" for his deputy or bring back the Hitman out to the park?
6:00PM: Ahead of the Super Sunday clash, here are some key numbers from the contest
5:45PM:
Red soil to black soil, the tracks have changed and so has England's fortunes. Game on, India!
1st T20I Review
The road to the T20 World Cup hit a rocky start for Team India as it was ousted by the world's no.1 side in the format. A fresh and raring English side brushed aside the ghosts of the Ahmedabad pitch as it stifled the host in the first T20I, clearly dishing Kohli's plans for a team that would adorn more "freedom" in its dynamics.
India who was put into bat first by Morgan, was caught in a quagmire as England unleashed a fiery test with pace from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. The surprise combo of Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul fell early, with the skipper Kohli falling for a successive duck. Save a lone-waging 67 from Shreyas Iyer - under-pressure to perform with new stars Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan vying the spot - India failed to 'experiment' its aggressive side against a confident England lineup.
Skittling to 124/7, India merely put up a fight against a ballistic England lineup that stormed through the chase with no sweat. England has a foothold on this series as India, despite the huge downplay, has plenty of crevices to fill.
Captain Kohli's big test
Ahead of the first game, Kohli made it clear that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will be the opening pair through the series unless either of them carry a niggle or hit rock-bottom with the bat. Rohit, who is at the peak of his powers currently, was "rested" by the Indian captain the next day, creating a stir through the cricketing world and social media. Kohli, who wanted India to experiment aggressive side through the series with the "new additions" in the side, did not include either of Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan to fuel the cause. With four T20Is remaining ahead of the IPL and the World Cup, can Kohli pass the stern test of acing the T20 dynamics, best suited for his side?
FORM GUIDE (last five matches)
India LLWWW
England WWWWL
TEAMS (from)
- India : Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, K. L. Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Tewatia, Ishan Kishan.
- England : Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer.
WHERE TO WATCH THE INDIA vs ENGLAND SERIES?
The IND vs ENG series can be live streamed on Disney+Hotstar . It can also be watched on the Star Sports television network.
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