England defeated India by 4 wickets in the second T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Chasing 191 runs, the host completed the chase in 19 overs. Arshdeep Singh put England on the back foot in the first over, getting rid of openers Phil Salt (0) and Jos Buttler (0). Captain Harry Brook came at No.3 and took on the rivals from the start, smashing 4 boundaries and 3 sixes in his 15-ball 39.
When he was looking to take the game away, Axar got rid of him. Jacob Bethell joined hands with Tom Banton, but the two couldn’t free their arms, considering India’s impressive bowling display. Banton faced 32 balls to post 39 runs, laced with 6 boundaries. On the other hand, Bethelle exploded after the dismissal of Banton and Will Jacks. The turning point came in the 17th over of the run chase. Bethell hammered Ravi Bishnoi, who ended up conceding 29 runs. Jacob, who is renowned for his big hits, struck 5 boundaries and 5 maximums to amass an unbeaten 76 runs off 46 deliveries.
Jofra Archer also remained not out on 10 off 7 balls.
For the Men in Blue, Arshdeep Singh picked up three wickets. Harshit Rana, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy picked up 1 scalp each.
Earlier, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was handed his maiden India cap by Tilak Varma, with the youngster replacing the wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson.
Things didn’t go as planned for the young gun as he was dismissed after accumulating 14 runs in 10 balls. He hit two big sixes.
Abhishek Sharma looked in good touch in his 24-ball 43 and smashed 8 fours and 1 six. Ishan Kishan was not given room by the English bowler, and he took 40 balls to add 49 runs to the total. He hit 6 fours, but his strike rate of 122.50 cost India a few more runs.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer was good in his 22-ball stay in the middle. His 37 runs were packed with 3 boundaries and 1 six.
Despite the fall of Shivam Dube (5), Axar (2) and Harshit (6), vice-captain Tilak provided the finishing touch. He scored 24 runs in just 11 balls, including 2 maximums and 1 four.
Sam Curran claimed three scalps while one each went to Archer, Jacks and Dawson.
The first game of the series was called off due to rain.
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