England vs India 2018, 2nd T20I: Hits and Misses
After winning the first T20I comfortably, Virat Kohli fielded the same team in the second match against England. The hosts, on the other hand, made one change to their playing XI as all-rounder Moeen Ali was left out and debutant Jake Ball was given an opportunity.
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.