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.
Key Points
1.
Buttler top-scored with fluent 45-run innings
2.
Spin duo Axar and Varun took crucial wickets
3.
Brydon Carse countered late with quick 31 runs
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.
