Picture : BCCI / X
India extended their lead in the five-match T20I series against England to 2-0 as they won the second encounter at Chennai in a thrilling fashion by two wickets. It was thriller and India held the nerves till the very end.
Earlier, India Skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to field first. England batting woes continued here too as well . Openers Flopped Philip Salt ( 4), Ben Duckett ( 3) , Skipper Jos Butter 45 ( 30 balls ,2 fours , 3 sixes) like his previous innings played alone hand. Harry Brook ( 13), Liam Livingstone ( 13), Jamie Smith ( 22) a 17 ball 30 cameo by Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer (12), Adil Rashid ( 10) helped England eventually reach 165/ 9 in their 20 overs. It was yet again a below par total.
Indian bowlers were on top – Arshdeep Singh 1/ 40 ( 4 overs ) Hardik Pandya 1/ 6 ( 2 overs) , Washington Sundar 1/ 9 ( 1 over) , Axar Patel 2/ 32( 4 overs), Ravi Bishnoi 0/ 27 ( 4 overs), Varun Chakravarthy 2/ 38 ( 4 overs), Abhishek Sharma 1/ 12 ( 1 over)
In reply, India were jolted early as openers Sanju Samson ( 5 ) and Abhishek Sharma ( 12 ) fell quickly . Adding to India’s woes was skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s early dismissal out for 12. India were in trouble. Dhruv Jurel run- out 4 and Hardik Pandya out for ( 7) put India’s chase in dire straits. Washington Sundar chipped in with a vital 26.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals India were on the hunt thanks to Tilak Varma who stayed on till the end and helped India snatch a thriller . Tilak Varma scored an impressive match winning 72 not out from 55 balls, hitting five sixes and four fours, as India finished on 166/8 in 19.2 overs to clinch victory with four balls to spare. Axar Patel ( 2) and Arshdeep Singh ( 6) also fell. But Ravi Bishnoi not out (9) helped Varma to close out the match.
England bowling figures read ; Jofra Archer took a hammering 1/ 60 ( 4 overs) Mark Wood 1/ 28 ( 3 overs) ,Brydon Carse 2/ 29 ( 4overs) Adil Rashid was impressive 1/ 14 ( 4 overs), Jamie Overton 1/ 20 ( 2. 2 overs) , Liam Livingstone 1/ 14 ( 2 overs)
Match: 2nd T20I
Venue: Chennai | Date: Jan 25, 2025
