Match report
England win! By five wickets (149-5)
Willey, won’t he? He will. A shorter ball, a smack through the on side, and England have won with a full two balls to spare. That makes it 1-1. And Hales, one of the duffers the other day, is the hero, with 58 not out – worth a hundred. Thanks for your company, and your emails. Join me here on Sunday, at 2pm, for the decider. Who needs football?
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Two balls into the 20th over: England 147-5 (Hales 57, Willey 2) Kumar blinks, and Hales helps it down to fine leg for four. Only two more needed now, off four balls.
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One ball into the 20th over: England 143-5 (Hales 53, Willey 2) That’s a six!! Hales, facing the previously blameless Kumar, goes straight and he goes big. That’s in the river Taff. Superb. Six needed off five balls. Where’s Root when you need him?
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End of the 19th over: England 137-5 (Hales 47, Willey 2) Another yorker, squeezed down to third man by Hales, for a very tight two. Then a four! Hales smashes a drive through the covers. And takes a single to the sweeper, so it’s 12 needed off six balls, with Hales on strike. Can he do it?
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Mid-19th over: England 130-5 (Hales 40, Willey 2) A smart yorker from Yadav to Willey – dot ball. Then a single, off a leading edge but much needed, to give Hales the strike. And Hales misses! England need 19 off nine balls. Too steep, I suspect.
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18th over: England 129-5 (Hales 40, Willey 1) Kumar, who has been excellent at both ends of the innings, is threatening to ruin the series. This over is so good it’s almost unsporting. He has figures of 3-0-7-1, unheard of in T20s, and England need 20 off the last two overs. India are slight favourites.
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Wicket! Bairstow c Kuldeep b Kumar 28 (England 126-5)
Just when they were on top, England flirt with defeat again. Bairstow plays a help-it-round pull and Kuldeep, far from contemplating anything, takes a fine catch at fine leg. Hales, who only made six in that partnership of 34, needs to take charge now.
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17th over: England 126-4 (Hales 39, Bairstow 28) Kuldeep ambles in for his last over, and off the second ball Bairstow goes big with a slog-sweep for six. Great stuff. And again, next ball! Six more. Kuldeep is left empty-handed (4-0-34-0) and contemplating the way cricket can be a cruel mistress. The rate required is below eight now.
16th over: England 110-4 (Hales 37, Bairstow 14) Barstow’s been busy, as ever, but it’s time for fours now and he’s not finding them yet. England need 39 off four overs, so the rate is almost 10.
And here’s Guy Hornsby. “England really need this win or we’ll start feeling there’s a weakness against this spin attack. Surely a custom-made situation for Morgan’s canniness?” Ah, this wa sa few minutes ago. “Hopefully that’s not the kiss of death.” Ha. “Apparently there’s a football game on. But could Neymar pick the googly, eh?” Maybe not, but he could surely roll his arm over.
15th over: England 103-4 (Hales 36, Bairstow 8) Bairstow, who was Kuldeeped like a kipper first ball the other day, changes his approach and goes right back, to cut or whip it to leg, and it works. Kuldeep has none for 18 off his three overs, so his career average in T20i has rocketed to 12 and a half.
14th over: England 99-4 (Hales 34, Bairstow 6) Bairstow gets straight down to business, finding the gap between the bowler and midwicket, but the switch back to pace did the trick. England need 50 off six overs, and here comes Kuldeep again.
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Wicket!!! Morgan c Dhawan b Pandya 17 (England 92-4)
What. A. Catch. Morgan pulls a bouncer and Dhawan first runs in, then rocks back and takes a stunner. India needed that so badly.
13th over: England 92-3 (Hales 33, Morgan 12) Chahal’s last over, and Morgan is in the groove now, sweeping for four, but after two overs that went for 13 apiece, Kohli won’t mind a seven.
And here’s Aditi, my co-commentator tonight. “Do you think the threat of Stokes’s return is affecting Root’s game? Why is Stokes assured of a return anyway? If it’s because of his all-round ability, I would take Root’s spin over Stokes’s bowling.” Interesting. I agree that Stokes’s return is being treated as more of a shoo-in than it should be. I’d be surprised if it was getting to Root, who has a fine temperament – but not, perhaps, the best game for this format.
12th over: England 85-3 (Hales 32, Morgan 11) Morgan comes out of his shell and lofts Kuldeep for a straight four. That ball was so slow, you wondered why Kuldeep didn’t go and fetch it back before it reached Morgan. Hales, beaten by a beauty, fights back with a six, lofted towards the river. So much better from England. Series on.
11th over: England 72-3 (Hales 26, Morgan 4) Hales releases the pressure with a slog-swish for six off Chahal, and then goes back and late-cuts for four, past slip, almost elegantly. He has 26 off 19 balls, and I take it all back (8th over). This partnership is 28, with a ratio of 6:1, which can’t have happened to Morgan very often.
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10th over: England 59-3 (Hales 14, Morgan 3) Kuldeep starts by bowling very slowly, as if to savour every drop of England’s discomfort. Then he suddenly speeds up, from 50ish to 66mph, and nearly gets a wicket. You expect one in every over he bowls. The rate has gone up to nine, and India are firm favourites in my book.
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Not out!
Alex Wharf, in the stand, agrees with Michael Gough, in the middle.
Review!
For LBW against Hales, who swept and missed at Kuldeep. Not given. He was struck on the ankle, maybe outside leg...
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9th over: England 55-3 (Hales 12, Morgan 3) Hales is managing to string together the singles, unlike in the first match. Morgan goes for a reverse sweep, misses and survives a lusty LBW appeal – it would have been umpire’s call. And here comes Kuldeep. He should be accompanied by the music from Jaws.
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8th over: England 49-3 (Hales 9, Morgan 2) Five off Pandya’s over. At this moment, I’d rather be in Kohli’s shoes than Morgan’s. The quicker bowlers have some help from a lively pitch, and the slow ones have some help from England’s brittleness against mystery spin. Alex Hales is a bit out of sorts, and the tail is long, so Morgan and Jonny Bairstow may have to get most of the remaining 100.
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7th over: England 44-3 (Hales 6, Morgan 0) India are pumped, and with good reason – Chahal’s first over goes for only two, never mind the wicket. The ploy of promoting Root to keep things steady goes wrong, and now a captain’s innings is needed from Morgan, as it was from Kohli.
“What’s up with Buttler?” wonders Aditi. “I am beginning to doubt his intelligence. This is the second consecutive time after receiving a reprieve he has gone on to throw his wicket away.” Well, throw is a bit harsh – and Buttler is known for his cricket brain. He just got a touch carried away, as can happen when a player is in blazing form.
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Wicket! Root b Chahal 9 (England 44-3)
Here we go again. The fifth ball from a spinner brings the breakthrough, as Root sweeps at Chahal’s wrong’un and misses.
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6th over: England 42-2 (Root 8, Hales 5) Pandya comes on, and Root confounds the doubters with a glorious flick-sweep that would be four were it not for a fabulous diving stop by Yadav. Alex Hales comes to the party with a slap-pull for four. And here comes some spin. “In a sense,” says Nasser, “the game starts here.”
5th over: England 33-2 (Root 4, Hales 0) Root is trying to get them in singles. Buttler wasn’t – he played a Caribbean off drive, on the back foot, and was dropped by Kohli at mid-off. “Mate, you’ve just dropped the series,” Buttler probably didn’t say, as he’s an easy-going soul. He just celebrates with a thwack for four, over Kohli’s head. But thence tries it again, and that’s tempting fate.
Wicket!! Buttler c Kohli b Yadav 14 (England 33-2)
That’s the big one. Buttler chips it to mid-off, where Kohli had just dropped him, and this time he clings on. Game very much on.
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4th over: England 28-1 (Buttler 10, Root 3) Kohli has a slip in for Root, rightly, as India need wickets. Kumar has figures of 2-0-5-0, which are more than respectable. The big question is, how soon does Kohli turn to the demon Kuldeep?
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3rd over: England 25-1 (Buttler 9, Root 1) As it’s a low-scoring game, Joe Root goes up the order – a backhanded compliment if ever there was one. He scrambles a single right away, allowing Buttler to smash a pull over midwicket for four, then ease an off-push, with supreme finesse, for four more.
In other news, Brazil are 2-0 down to Belgium – the old order changing.
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Wicket! Roy b Yadav 15 (England 16-1)
Yadav gets everything right – the line, the length and most of all the seam movement, back into the right-handed Roy, who plays outside it. Game on.
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2nd over: England 16-0 (Roy 15, Buttler 1) Buttler goes the other way, taking a step out to meet Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first ball, and shovelling it for a single. Kumar beats Roy, then keeps him quiet. Only two off the over. Cricket is more interesting when the pitch gives the bowlers something, isn’t it?
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1st over: England 14-0 (Roy 14, Buttler 0) Umesh Yadav takes the new ball, and Roy is ready for him, deep in the crease, pulling for four, then tucking for four more, and pulling for six. What a start!
England are favourites, but they’re still one collapse away from losing the series. Jos Buttler, the only English batsman to fire in the first match, is opening again, with Jason Roy. The sun is shining, and nobody is remotely distracted by Brazil v Belgium.
20th over: India 148-5 (Dhoni 32, Pandya 12) Debutant or not, Jake Ball shoulders the burden of bowling the last over. Dhoni, sensing the short ball, pulls for two, then plays a forehand cross-court, straight back past a rather startled Ball. A slower bouncer looks good but goes for four byes (a bugger for Buttler) and gets called a no-Ball. It’s all happening. India are past seven an over, and eyeing the 150. Ball drops short again, which is surely a mistake, and Dhoni gets out the flat-bat again – four more. Bowl a yorker, man! He mysteriously fails to hear me, goes for the long hop again, and Dhoni helps himself to four to long leg. A total of 22 off the over: mayhem at last.
“That’s eminently chaseable,” says Sangakkara, but I have a feeling Dhoni has just swung the game India’s way. See you in a few minutes.
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19th over: India 126-5 (Dhoni 17, Pandya 11) Dhoni thumps Jordan, but only for two, thanks to an athletic half-stop by Plunkett. Jordan finds a couple of yorkers, only for Panda to go deep in the crease and play an inspired jab for six. A better over for India, yet the run rate remains below seven.
18th over: India 115-5 (Dhoni 14, Pandya 3) Willey shows some hostility, with a fiery bouncer. Pandya responds with some useful nudges, but this is an evening for the bowlers and Willey finishes with 1-18 off his four overs. He is growing into international cricket.
Wicket!! Kohli c Root b Willey 47 (India 111-5)
Kohli pulls, nicely, and Joe Root takes a stunning catch, diving forward at deep backward square. That could make all the difference.
17th over: India 111-4 (Kohli 47, Dhoni 13) Jordan returns, in his capacity as England’s death bowler. He restricts these two giants to three singles, but then Kohli whips a full toss for six over deep backward square. Another full toss, borderline too high, gets past Dhoni. India need three overs of mayhem.
16th over: India 101-4 (Kohli 39, Dhoni 11) Back comes Willey, and Kohli starts picking up twos into a rather deserted leg side. They don’t feel like enough. Mike Atherton reckons a par score is 170-180, which might be a touch high.
“Dhoni and Kohli,” says Nuggehalli Nigam, “run like they were born to run with the hounds on the manor.” Mr Springsteen, have you met Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?
15th over: India 93-4 (Kohli 32, Dhoni 11) Dhoni is less comfortable against Rashid, playing and missing at a leg-break. After four dots in a row, he gets fed up, goes down the track, and uses his wrists to bludgeon the ball over midwicket. Sanga likens him to Jos Buttler, no small compliment at the minute. Rashid finishes with a dot, his tenth, and handy figures of 4-0-29-1.
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14th over: India 89-4 (Kohli 32, Dhoni 7) Dhoni’s cap doesn’t last long, as Plunkett returns. Duly helmeted, he plays a gorgeous hook for four into the gap at long leg. Kumar Sangakkara, who is such a sharp addition to the commentary box, notes that Dhoni has summed up the pitch already, in a way that Sharma didn’t. England are on top, but (a) Kohli’s still there and (b) it could be a low-scoring match.
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13th over: India 82-4 (Kohli 30, Dhoni 2) So Rashid recovers well from that mauling. MS Dhoni saunters out in a cap, and Morgan posts the slip I’ve been demanding.
“And hello to you Tim from the void.” Hello to you, Adele – sorry, Aditi. “Can we expect a similar barrage of ICH memes next year during the 2019 CWC? Would be nice to have a double with the cricket and footy (Everything’s coming home isn’t it? Kyle Edmund should probably dig up his thanksgiving speech too.)” Ha.
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Wicket! Raina st Buttler b Rashid 27 (India 79-4)
Cometh the moment, cometh Rashid’s googly. Raina fails to pick it, Buttler reads it right, and that’s the breakthrough.
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12th over: India 79-3 (Raina 27, Kohli 29) One ball after conceding a six with his fielding, Ball does it again as a bowler, as Raina backs away and whacks him over deep square. It’s surprising that Morgan hasn’t got a slip – England badly need to break this partnership.
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11th over: India 67-3 (Raina 18, Kohli 27) The Indians are going to have to tuck into Rashid, and they know it. Kohli gives him the charge and chips him over midwicket, but Bairstow does well with a save on the fence. Then Kohli hits a superb sweep-mow for four, and collects the first six of the day as Ball drops him on the long-on boundary (a good effort). That’s 15 off the over. Game on?
10th over: India 52-3 (Raina 16, Kohli 14) Plunkett, who was just changing ends, beats Kohli, with bounce more than movement. Plunkett is pretty fly for an old guy. Raina brings up the fifty with another of his jump-back deflections; he could be a candidate for being bowled round his legs.
“I’m here!” says Pratik Dubey. Thank God. “150 looks like a good score on this pitch, none of the batsmen have been able to find any timing.”
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9th over: India 48-3 (Raina 14, Kohli 12) Something to cheer the Indians: an over of spin. Adil Rashid comes on, and Kohli is instantly at home, cover-driving for two, then picking the googly. Seven off the over, all of them to Kohli: has that got him into the groove?
8th over: India 41-3 (Raina 14, Kohli 4) Jordan goes for a few singles, which won’t bother England, but at least India have stopped the rot. Is anybody out there?
7th over: India 36-3 (Raina 12, Kohli 2) Plunkett beats Raina with a slower ball, too slow to give Buttler a catch even if it had taken the edge. Raina’s retort is a pull over mid-on for four, but this has been an impressive comeback by England after the hammering they look at Old Trafford. Plunkett’s figures are a handsome 2-0-6-1.
6th over: India 31-3 (Raina 8, Kohli 1) Chris Jordan replaces Ball and immediately dishes up a freebie, a ball on Raina’s legs when fine leg is up, which is duly dispatched for four with a silky flick. Kohli gets off the mark with a very tight tip-and-run single. He’s a superstar, but now we’re going to see if he’s any good at repairs.
5th over: India 23-3 (Raina 1, Kohli 0) Willey, who started so well, is hauled off in favour of Plunkett, so we have Plunkett and Plunkett Lite on at the same time. And the real Plunkett makes things happen straight away, with a lucky run-out and then a prize scalp.
Wicket!!! Rahul b Plunkett 6 (India 22-3)
Another one! Rahul misses Plunkett’s slower ball, and India are in all sorts of trouble. Are you England in disguise?
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Wicket!! Dhawan run out 10 (India 22-2)
It should have been comfortable, but Dhawan dropped his bat as he was about to make his ground, and Morgan whipped off the bails.
Wicket?? Dhawan...
Review for a run-out, and it looks out.
4th over: India 22-1 (Dhawan 10, Rahul 6) Ball is banging it in like a younger, slighter, less hairy Liam Plunkett. Dhawan works him out and pre-meditates no fewer than three pulls, including one which goes clean through Alex Hales at deep square and dribbles to the boundary. That may be the jump-start India needed.
3rd over: India 13-1 (Dhawan 3, Rahul 4) Rahul gets off the mark with a thick inside edge off Willey, but then shows what good form he’s in by easing through the covers for three. Willey, who is getting some of the swing he needs, has a decent shout for LBW against Dhawan. It’s been a sedate start.
“Maybe nice time for England to bowl fast,” says Irfan Sufi.
2nd over: India 7-1 (Dhawan 1) Jake Ball goes straight in at the deep end. He starts with two dots, before Dhawan gets off the mark with a push to leg, and Sharma finds his feet with a blast of an off-drive – only to get carried away and try to hit a shortish ball for six. First blood to England, but here comes Lokesh Rahul, fresh from a hundred.
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Wicket! Sharma c Buttler b Ball 5 (India 7-1)
Sharma goes for the big yahoo, it goes straight up in the air, Buttler calls and Mr Ball the bowler has a wicket in his first over in T20i.
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1st over: India 1-0 (Sharma 1, Dhawan 0) David Willey begins with four dots on a surface that seems to have some life in it. “Pace, bounce and carry,” says Mike Atherton. Rohm Sharma, perhaps rattled, tries to ramp the fifth ball, prompting a muted appeal for LBW. They take a run, but still, a one-run over in this format is a minor triumph.
The man of the first match, Kuldeep Yadav, is quite something. A left-arm wrist spinner who can turn it both ways, he makes a habit of bamboozling opposing teams. His T20i stats are unreal: in 11 games, he has 24 wickets, at an average of 11.79, and a strike rate of 9.8. So every ten balls, he takes a wicket. The only other bowler with 20 wickets to have a strike rate in single figures in T20i is Andre Botha (9.7), who played for Ireland for a couple of years from 2008 – and he was military medium, so not the stuff of nightmares. Will Kuldeep go past him today?
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Teams
India, understandably, stick with the XI that won the first game by a street. Kohli cheerfully admits that he would have opted to bowl here too. England are sufficiently rattled to abandon their spin-twin policy – although, to be fair, they usually lean towards seam at Sophia Gardens.
Moeen’s absence, on top of Stokes’ and Woakes’, makes for more of a tail, so another top-order collapse will be doubly fatal. For Jake Ball, it’s a T20i debut. It will be interesting to see if Jonny Bairstow continues to languish at No 6.
England Roy, Buttler (wkt), Hales, Morgan (capt), Root, Bairstow, Willey, Jordan, Plunkett, Rashid, Ball.
India Sharma, Dhawan, Rahul, Kohli (capt), Raina, Dhoni (wkt), Pandya, Chahal, Kuldeep, Yadav, Kumar.
Toss: England choose to bowl
Kohli calls wrong, Eoin Morgan wants to chase, and England leave out Moeen Ali for Jake Ball.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to the second T20 international. Is it me, or has the world turned upside down? There was a time when England might have had a nice friendly home series against India, only to get a rude shock when the Australians arrived, but the past month has been the exact opposite of that.
Tim Paine’s Aussies were a pushover, beaten 6-0, whereas Virat Kohl’s India did better than that in the space of a couple of hours at Old Trafford. They were instantly assertive and aggressive, alarmingly good at both the basic skills and the dark arts. The England fans, had they not been drowned out by India’s support, could have been singing “Are you Scotland in disguise?”
As it’s the best of three, England have to win in Cardiff tonight, which means not collapsing at the first whiff of mystery spin. India can afford to relax, but Kohli will surely see the chance to wrap up the series before many people have even noticed that it has begun.
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