The substitution seemed a reasonable one as Ali made just 6 runs and gave away 37 runs in his 2.2 overs in the previous game.
While the Indian team impressed in all the departments in the previous fixture, England’s consolation was Joss Butler’s form and the fact that their football team had made it to the quarterfinals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
In order to keep the series alive, it was a must-win game for the home side. Winning the toss, skipper Eoin Morgan opted to bowl first and put pressure on the visitors since ball one. England restricted India for a moderate total of 148 and was able to level the series after winning the match in the last over with 5 wickets in hand.
India, on the other hand, fought hard till the end but was not able to continue their winning streak in T20Is. The series decider will be played in Bristol on Sunday, July 8. Find out which players impressed and who needs to buckle up before the series finale.
#5 Hit: England Bowling
The Englishmen kept a tight lid on the Indian batting attack since the first ball. The introduction of Jake Ball in the team yielded results in his first over itself as he picked up his first T20I wicket in the form of Rohit Sharma.
Liam Plunkett then dismissed the in-form batsman KL Rahul for just six runs and India was restricted to 31-3 in the power-play.
This was India’s lowest power-play total in the last two years. After the first set of 10 overs, India was 52-3 which is also India’s lowest score against England in the first 10 overs in the 20-20 format.
Plunkett gave away 17 runs while Willey gave 18 runs in their quota of overs. Apart from being economical, they both picked up the crucial wickets of Rahul and Kohli, respectively. A strong Indian batting line-up was restricted to a modest total of 148 as the bowlers bowled to their strengths.
#4 Miss: Indian Openers
Dhawan was dismissed in the fifth over when he was trying to take a sharp single after being hit on the body.
It was a bizarre run out as he dropped his bat before reaching the crease and his feet were in the air when Morgan broke the bails. He made 10 from 12 balls before heading back to the pavilion.
Both Dhawan and Rohit can be destructive on their days. The duo has given India great starts in the past but it wasn’t the case this time around.
Sharma fell to debutant Ball’s short delivery when he was trying to pull one out of the ground. Sharma made five runs from nine deliveries that he faced.
With both the openers gone, India was struggling at 22-2 and it was hard to recover from the fall of early wickets.
#3 Hit: Virat Kohli
Kohli made 47 runs from 38 balls before he was dismissed by David Willey in an attempt to increase the scoring.
The captain led from the front and ended up being the top scorer. India would want their ace batsman to continue the good form and keep on scoring runs across different formats.
The fastest man to get to 2000 T20I runs in just 60 matches, Virat Kohli was the only batsman who kept India’s hope alive. Kohli came at the crease when India was 22-2. Along with Suresh Raina, Kohli put a 57-run partnership.
In the past, Kohli’s batting performance in England hasn’t been that great. His innings today will surely boost his confidence for the upcoming fixtures.
#2 Miss: India’s death bowling
Bowling the 17th over, Kuldeep Yadav was taken to the cleaners as Bairstow hit him for two sixes.
The over ended up costing 16 runs and eventually, the match. Defending a moderate total, India gave a good fight till the 16th over. With 39 needed from the last four, India was banking on their experienced bowlers to take them home but this wasn’t the case.
Death bowling specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar tried to contain the English batsmen and even picked up Bairstow’s wicket but it was too big a task for him to see India through.
With 12 needed in the last over, Kumar was hit for a six and a four in the first two deliveries and it was easy pickings afterwards.
#1 Hit: England middle-order
The experienced batsmen took their time at the crease and even played a few dot balls when Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were bowling.
Despite that, they didn’t let the run-rate get out of control. Time and again, they played a big shot and got the required runs. Maybe the services of Merlyn - a machine used to counter the wrist-spin - has proved to be effective.
Unlike last time, the English middle-order performed much better and helped the team get through. England was in a spot of bother at 44-3 when skipper Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales were given the responsibility to rebuild the innings.
Morgan’s 17 from 19 balls was followed by a quick-fire 28 from 18 balls by Jonny Bairstow.
Hales remained unbeaten with his match-winning innings of 58 runs from 41 balls. Hales saw the team through and was awarded the man of the match for his efforts.
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title: “England Vs India 2018 2Nd T20I Hits And Misses” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-07” author: “Alvin Carter”
Eoin Morgan won the toss and was more than eager to ask team India to bat first. Important contributions from the skipper Virat Kohli (47), Suresh Raina (27) and a 22-run final over finish from MS Dhoni helped India on its course to 148/5.
Although India tried to claw their way back with some excellent bowling, defending a small total was always tough, and it was indeed England who ended up on the winning side.
While Alex Hales took England over the line in what turned out to be a last over thriller, let us take a look at the hits and misses of the game.
#1 Miss: India’s top order failure
India usually boasts of a top order of the highest class but today was one such day where they were off colours.
A spongy wicket and a bit of lateral movement added to the woes of Rohit Sharma, who hasn’t been in the best of nicks off late. A top edge off a back-of-a-length ball from Jake Ball ended Rohit’s misery, handing Ball’s first T20I wicket and India, their first blow.
This was followed up by a bizarre run-out at the non-striker’s end as Shikhar Dhawan, hit on the elbow, responded to his partners call for a single but ended up centimetres short, hanging in the air as Eoin Morgan just about managed to remove the bails.
Cricket once again proved it is a great leveller as previous match centurion, KL Rahul was bowled off Liam Plunkett as he shuffled and lost his bails.
India scored just a paltry score of 31/3 in the powerplay, one of the lowest scores in the first six overs for India in T20I.
#2 Hit: England’s bowling
England proved how vital it is to play horses-for-courses in a format like T20, as they brought in pacer Jake Ball for Moeen Ali, taking advantage of a pacy and spongy wicket and an oblong shaped stadium with big square boundaries.
Liam Plunkett and David Willey were the picks of bowlers with economies of 4.25 and 4.5, grabbing wickets of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli respectively. Jake ball and Adil Rashid, although went for runs, provided pivotal breakthroughs in the form of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.
A collective effort from the English bowlers was conducive in restricting India to a mere total of 148/5.
#3 Hit: Umesh Yadav
The skiddy pacer from Vidarbha has made news for all the right reasons since the start of IPL 2018. Ending the IPL as one of the highest wicket-takers, grabbing 20 wickets in 14 outings, Umesh made a strong case to be part of the Indian team in the shorter formats.
The comeback into T20Is has been great for Umesh as he has continued to provide much need wickets in the powerplay overs for India. Today too, he picked up two wickets as he first cleaned up James Roy with a ball that nipped in and later removed the dangerous Jos Buttler, who was caught trying to clear the mid-off to a full delivery.
Often criticized for his death-bowling, Umesh executed perfect yorkers and gave away just eight runs of the penultimate over and gave the Indian fans a glimmer of hope towards victory.
#4 Miss: Kuldeep Yadav
Just like K L Rahul, another hero from Manchester, Kuldeep Yadav had a forgettable outing in Cardiff. While it is unsure whether England’s ploy to make use of Merlyn, the bowling machine, to counter Kuldeep really made a difference, Kuldeep erring in his lengths didn’t really help India’s cause.
Kuldeep conceded three sixes and a boundary and went wicket-less to finish his 4-over quota with 34 runs.
#5 Hit: Alex Hales
In what turned out to be a low-total thriller, Alex Hales was the hero for England. Hales played a composed inning of 41-ball-58.
He held his nerves to those wide yorkers from Umesh and managed to drive on through the covers for a boundary to give England the slight edge in the penultimate over.
Bhuvi, one of the best death bowlers was shown no mercy as he erred in lengths as Hales sent one straight down the ground for six and followed it up with a boundary down fine leg.
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