India vs England: Old boys return to clinch 2nd T20I series

The role clarity that they desperately missed for long in T20Is was nowhere to be seen in Edgbaston.
Representational Image (Photo | AP)
Representational Image (Photo | AP)

CHENNAI: Let's keep aside the result for a moment. In the larger context i.e. the T20 World Cup, an away series win against England is a major shot in the arm. But there was more to it than the result alone. Despite benching Ishan Kishan and Deepak Hooda, and fielding a near full-strength XI, it was refreshing to see India do everything they could to maintain their newfound aggressive approach. The role clarity that they desperately missed for long in T20Is was nowhere to be seen in Edgbaston.

With Virat Kohli back in the mix, the visitors were bound to make changes and more than at whose expense, the big question was at what cost? In the absence of what you call white-ball regulars, India has fielded a completely different T20 side in recent months. More importantly, they were now playing T20 cricket, the way it was supposed to be played – where strike rates mattered more than the deliveries faced.

In a format where teams consider having even one anchor a bane, India has had three in their top three – all of whom prefer taking time before teeing off. On Saturday with Kohli and Rishabh Pant coming back, India benched Deepak Hooda and Ishan Kishan. And instead of clubbing Rohit and Kohli at the top together, India sent Pant to open with the Indian captain. Apart from keeping a left-right duo at the top, it also gave India a more aggressive batter to make use of the powerplay. And it also kept Kohli at No 3, giving him a clear clarity of what his role is.

After England opted to bowl, India didn’t waste any time showing their intentions. Rohit and Pant made the most out of the powerplay as India raced to 61/1. Although debutant Richard Gleeson accounted for Rohit, Pant and Kohli in his first two overs to slow down India’s run rate, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya also perished by the 11th over to leave India reeling at 89/5, but they didn’t shelve their approach.

While Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Karthik went about resurrecting the innings, they weren’t shy of looking for boundaries or manufacturing shots. And with the help of Harshal Patel, India managed 81 off the last nine overs to finish with 170/8. Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 46 off 29 deliveries. And as was the case in the first match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar did all the damage with the new ball and Jasprit Bumrah did his part to reduce England to 21/3 as Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone were all back in the hut. And from there on, India didn’t allow England to get away from their stranglehold as they took an unassailable 2-0 with the final match set to take place on Sunday.

Brief scores: India 170/8 in 20 overs (Jadeja 46 n.o, Rohit 31; Jordan 4/27, Gleeson 3/15) bt England 121 all out in 17 overs (Moeen 35, Bhuvneshwar 3/15).

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