Chennai, Jan 25
Spin duo of Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets each as England set India a target of 166 after making 165/9 in second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
After being put into bat first, captain Jos Buttler was fluent again to top-score with 45, while Brydon Carse led a late counter-attack with a 17-ball 31 as England put in a much-improved batting performance. However, with the pitch being good for batting and dew setting in, it's uncertain if England have enough runs on the board to avoid going 2-0 behind in the five-game series.
For India, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy were the standout bowlers, taking 2 wickets for 32 and 38 runs respectively. The hosts bowled 14 overs of spin, which is the joint second-most their slower bowlers have bowled in a men’s T20I game.
The start was great for the hosts as Arshdeep Singh removed Phil Salt with a short ball that he pulled straight to deep square leg. Buttler dominated Arshdeep in the third over by heaving him twice and later finding gaps through the off-side to pick up two fours and a six.
Local boy Washington Sundar struck another blow in the power-play, getting Ben Duckett to top-edge a reverse sweep to point. While Buttler attacked by slamming Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi for sixes, Harry Brook dazzled with a slog-sweep and an inside-out shot against Axar for six and four respectively. However, his promising stay was cut short by Chakaravarthy, who bowled Brook with a delivery that turned in from outside off.
At the mid-point of the innings, Axar took down the big fish when Buttler attempted to go over mid-wicket but was caught in the deep for 45 off 30 balls. The left-arm spinner struck again when Liam Livingstone went hard on the pull but holed out to deep backward square leg.
Debutant Jamie Smith made a good impression with his foot movement, hammering two sixes and a four in his 12-ball innings of 22 before lofting one to long-off against Abhishek Sharma. Carse then stepped up, dancing down the pitch and using his crease effectively to hit three sixes and a four in his 17-ball 31, before he and Jamie Overton fell in quick succession.
A boundary each from Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, and Mark Wood ensured England surpassed the 160-mark.
Brief Scores: England 165/9 (Jos Buttler 45, Brydon Carse 31; Axar Patel 2-32, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-38) against India.
- IANS