Key Points
Hardik and Shivam's explosive fifties rescued India from early setback
Saqib Mahmood's historic triple-wicket maiden over
Intense batting performance sets challenging target for England
India had a sloppy start to the inning, however, it was the efforts of Hardik and Shivam which helped the Men in Blue to pose a target of 182 runs for England on Friday.
After winning the toss, Jos Buttler-led England decided to bring Suryakumar Yadav's India to bat first.
The Three Lions had a great start to the match with three quick dismissals at the score of 12. However, the Men in Blue turned around the match on a great note and gave a whopping target.
The opening partnership of Sanju Samson (1 run from 3 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (29 runs from 19 balls, 4 fours and 1 six) had a disappointing start to the game as they could only cement a partnership of 12 runs.
England seamer Saqib Mahmood was on fire in the second over as he removed India's top three batters without giving a single run to the opponent.
Mahmood removed Samson, Tilak Varma (0 runs from 1 ball) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (0 runs from 4 balls) in the second over.
It was also Mahmood's first over of the tour and he started it with a triple-wicket maiden. It was the first time this had happened in a men's T20 international.
Following the early wickets, Abhishek and Rinku Singh (30 runs from 26 balls, 4 fours and 1 six) made a 45-run partnership to give India a kickstart in the match.
However, Adil Rashid removed Abhishek in the 8th over. While Rinku lost his wicket in the 11th over.
Hardik Pandya (53 runs from 30 balls, 4 fours and 4 sixes) displayed a stupendous performance and slammed his half-century in the 18th over.
Along with Hardik, Shivam Dube (53 runs from 34 balls, 7 fours and 2 sixes) also put up a show and smashed his fifty in the 19th over.
The duo of Hardik and Shivam took India to 181/9 in the first inning. Ravi Bishnoi remained unbeaten on the crease till the end.
England needs to make 182 runs to win the match in Pune and level the series.
Brief Score: India 181/9 (Shivam Dube 53, Shivam Dube 53, Rinku Singh 30; Saqib Mahmood 3/35) vs England.
