Buoyed by debutant Ishan Kishan’s 32-ball 56, India cruised to a seven-wicket win in the second T20I of the five-match series against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, with two overs to spare. The series is now level 1-1.
India’s chase of 165 could have been tricky even after Kishan’s blitz, especially after they had managed a mere 124 the other night. But Rishabh Pant tore into the English attack for a breezy cameo, and Virat Kohli stayed unbeaten with a 49-ball 73 to ensure there was no further mishap.
India received a setback in the first over. Sam Curran kept KL Rahul at bay for five balls before getting one to edge. Kishan and Kohli looked comfortable from the onset, but it was not until the sixth over that Kishan exploded. He lofted Tom Curran into the stands and hit two fours. When Ben Stokes came from the other end, both batsmen hit him for a six each. The two overs went for 33.
Ishan then took on Adil Rashid, lofting him for consecutive sixes, over long-on and deep mid-wicket. Rashid trapped him leg-before four balls later, but by then the asking rate had come down to 7.10. Pant joined in the fun, dispatching Rashid for a colossal six over mid-wicket. He took four and six off consecutive balls before holing out to deep mid-wicket off Chris Jordan.
India did not break a sweat after that. Kohli finished things off with four and six off consecutive balls from Jordan. The latter, an almost effortless pull behind square leg, made him the first man to reach 3,000 runs in T20Is.
Earlier in the evening, India restricted England to 164/6. India replaced Axar Patel with a debutant batsman, restricting themselves to five bowlers. All five did well, especially Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, who finished with identical figures of 4-0-29-2. They bowled accurately and mixed up the pace on a two-paced wicket, and none of them conceded more than eight an over.
England received an early setback when Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped Jos Buttler leg-before for a golden duck in the first over. Jason Roy top-scored with 46, but it took him 35 balls. And while four of his teammates crossed 20, none of them struck at over 40. In all, England played out 44 dot balls and hit 3 sixes, which, when pitted against India’s counts of 32 and 9, tells the story.
Brief scores:
England 164/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 46; Washington Sundar 2-29, Shardul Thakur 2-29) lost to India 166/3 in 17.5 overs (Virat Kohli 73*; Sam Curran 1-38) by 7 wickets with 13 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Ishan Kishan.