[Lord Snooty]

Proper cricket!

[themaclad]

Careful you’ll be banned

[Lord Snooty]

[themaclad]

Second Twenty20, Ahmedabad
England 164-6 (20 overs): Roy 46 (35); Sundar 2-29, Thakur 2-29
India 166-3 (17.5 overs): Kohli 73* (49), Kishan 56 (32)
India won by seven wickets
Scorecard
England suffered a chastening seven-wicket defeat by a resurgent India in the second Twenty20 in Ahmedabad.

After overpowering the hosts in the series opener, England put in a timid performance on a slow pitch.

Asked to bat first, they were gradually stifled after Jason Roy was dismissed for 46, their 164-6 nothing better than par.

It was put into context by a swashbuckling 32-ball 56 on debut by Ishan Kishan, who survived giving a simple chance to Ben Stokes at long-on on 40 - a mistake that typified England's sloppy display.

Kishan added 94 with India captain Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten 73 off 49 balls also included an escape when he gave a tough chance down the leg side to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler on 10.

The composed Kohli pulled a six to take India to their target with 13 balls to spare, levelling the series before Tuesday's third match at the same venue.


A five-match series between the two best sides in the world seven months out from a T20 World Cup in India is increasing in intrigue, not least because of the reversal of roles from England's opening eight-wicket win.

Facing the challenges India failed to meet in the first game - batting first, the tricky surface, bowling second with a ball made damp by the dew - England put in a performance as poor as their Friday showing was excellent.

The tourists were hampered by the absence of Mark Wood, who was ruled out with a bruised heel, and the pace bowlers that were so dangerous two nights ago were largely ineffective.

India were not faultless - some better fielding would have made their pursuit even easier - but the bowling at the end of England's innings was outstanding before Kishan ignited the pursuit.

Rejuvenated, the hosts - in particular master run-chaser Kohli - delighted a raucous crowd of more than 66,000 inside the world's largest cricket stadium.

Sub-par England well beaten
Although England lost Buttler for a golden duck in the first over, a second-wicket partnership of 63 between Roy and Dawid Malan gave them a solid platform.

Roy's swishing and swiping gave clues to the difficult batting conditions and, after he miscued off-spinner Washington Sundar to be caught at deep square leg, England stalled.

Only two boundaries and 35 runs came from the final five overs. Pace bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya bowled almost exclusively slower balls, with Pandya's return of 0-33 particularly important because the all-rounder was required to deliver a full complement of four overs given the altered balance of the side.

Kishan - making his debut alongside fellow batsman Suryakumar Yadav in place of opener Shikhar Dhawan and spinner Axar Patel respectively - instantly impressed, making light of KL Rahul falling to Sam Curran in the first over of the chase.

Left-hander Kishan targeted the leg side, punishing Chris Jordan, Tom Curran and Stokes, who were all expensive.

His assault allowed Kohli to play the anchor and, although Kishan was lbw reverse-sweeping Adil Rashid, Rishabh Pant picked up the mantle with a thrilling 26 from only 13 balls.

Kohli survived a marginal stumping appeal off Rashid on 54 in scenes reminiscent of England's frustration with the third umpire from the Test series, but, by then, India were well on course for victory.

Virat Kohli
By hitting a six to win the match, Kohli became the first batsman to reach 3,000 T20 international runs
'We ticked all the boxes' - what they said
England captain Eoin Morgan: "Today was a different challenge to the first game. We want to learn as much as possible from tonight. I'm glad we played on this kind of wicket but I'm disappointed with the way we played.

"At the halfway stage we were probably in or around par. Full credit to India with the way they bowled. With the batting they put us on the back foot straight away.

"Woody feels better today so hopefully he'll be OK for the third game."

India captain Viart Kohli: "We ticked all the boxes that we wanted to, especially with the ball. I'm very, very happy with our bowing effort, and with the bat it was a convincing finish.

"England is a quality side - you need to play at your best to beat them. You have to be precise, be professional and finish the job, and that's what we did tonight.

"Ishan changed the game completely. He totally took the game away from the opposition - a quality innings on debut. He is a fearless character. He should continue to back his instincts. He knew he was hitting the ball well, but he was calculated - he wasn't reckless."

Man of the match Ishan Kishan: "I got a good start and I just wanted to finish the game. I was looking all over the ground and I was feeling so happy that finally, I am here and it is time to show my game now. I wanted to prove myself."

[themaclad]

Last three games behind closed doors

[themaclad]

Third Twenty20, Ahmedabad
India 156-6 (20 overs): Kohli 77* (46); Wood 3-31
England 158-2 (18.2 overs): Buttler 83* (52), Bairstow 40* (28)
England won by eight wickets
Scorecard
Jos Buttler's brutal hitting trumped the genius of Virat Kohli in England's eight-wicket defeat of India in the third Twenty20 in Ahmedabad.

Buttler muscled an unbeaten 83 from 52 balls to help England to their target of 157 with 10 balls to spare.

That was still closer than the contest could have been when India found themselves 24-3 after six overs and 87-5 from 15.

They were kept in it by captain Kohli, whose thrilling 77 not out from 46 balls illuminated a stadium left empty by the decision to play the last three matches of the series behind closed doors.

On the day captain Eoin Morgan became the first man to reach 100 T20 caps for England, his side moved 2-1 up with two matches to play and can seal the series on Thursday.

'It nearly got me to tears' - emotional Morgan on 100th T20 for England

Just as in the first two matches, when victories were traded, the side that won the toss won this game.

England's fast bowlers also repeated their superb display from the series opener, hitting the India batsmen with a barrage of short bowling on a two-paced surface.

The fit-again Mark Wood was particularly impressive, his figures of 3-31 only damaged when he took the brunt of Kohli's late assault.

With Kohli reversing the momentum and lifting India to a competitive total, England could have been pressured in the chase, but any notion of difficulty was quickly removed by Buttler.

Targeting the leg side, he got into his stride by hitting two huge sixes over long-on in the same Yuzvendra Chahal over.

England scored at almost 10 an over in the powerplay, a rapid start that meant the remainder of the chase was calm and controlled.

Buttler added 68 with Dawid Malan and an unbroken 77 with Jonny Bairstow on the way to making his highest score in a T20 international.

Buttler should have been taken at point by Kohli on 76 when he reverse-swept Chahal, while Chahal made a meal of a chance to catch Bairstow, who ended 40 not out.

On his landmark day, Morgan was not even required to bat.


KL Rahul was bowled by Wood for his second successive duck, the returning Rohit Sharma miscued the same bowler to short fine leg and Ishan Kishan was discomforted before top-edging Chris Jordan.

But Kohli instantly looked a class apart, first assessing the conditions, then exploding into an exhilarating blur of drives and pulls.

He had 28 from his first 29 balls, then took 49 runs off his next 17, a spell that included five fours and four sixes.

He danced around the crease, toying with the attack in a knock that deserved to be appreciated by an adoring crowd inside the world's largest cricket stadium.

In all, India took 69 from the final five overs. Buttler showed it was not nearly enough.

'We're very lucky to have him' - what they said
England captain Eoin Morgan: "Jos is a world-class player. We're very lucky to have him. He competes with the best in the world when it comes to opening the batting. He's been in incredible form and he's a great leader in our group. He's a huge influence."

Man of the match Jos Buttler: "I like being not out in the end and getting the side over the line. Some people don't expect me to attack the spinners so I thought I would take it on."

India captain Virat Kohli: "The England bowlers were brilliant with the new ball - they hardly gave us anything. I don't think our body language was good enough in the second half in the field. You need more energy."

England T20 bowler Tymal Mills on BBC Sport: "An excellent win for England. They set the tone brilliantly with the powerplay bowling at the start. Wood in particular was excellent.

"Then it was a really impressive, measured chase with Jos Buttler knowing when to go up and down the gears."

[themaclad]

India 185 for 8 (Suryakumar 57, Iyer 37, Archer 4-33) beat England 177 for 8 (Stokes 46, Roy 40, Thakur 3-42, Pandya 2-16) by eight runs

India broke the trend of win toss-bat second-win game, squeezing out a thrilling eight-run win in the fourth T20I against England on Thursday after being asked to bat first. The two teams will now head into the final game with the series 2-2.

There was high drama, great skill on display with bat and ball, and a spot of umpiring controversy in a match that packed plentiful action in 20 overs across both innings. In his first time batting for India, Suryakumar Yadav made a splash few will forget, top-scoring with a rollicking 57 off 31 that turbo-charged India's start. His innings and his dismissal will vie for headline space with each other though. Yadav was rattling along at more than 11 runs per over when he top-edged a sweep to deep backward square leg, where Dawid Malan got to the ball even as it was dipping down. Numerous replays later, Yadav was adjudged out, with the third umpire ruling that there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the on-field soft signal of 'out'.

Yadav's departure in the 14th over left the game delicately poised, but Shreyas Iyer launched into perhaps his best T20I innings yet, with a sparkling 37 off 18 that gave India a total that was above par, even though this was the best batting pitch of the series and there was dew around.

England's reply progressed in fits and starts, Jason Roy shrugging off a slow start to lay into the bowling and then Ben Stokes unleashing his power at the back end, but India's bowlers showed excellent control with a ball that was getting wetter, sticking to their lengths and varying their pace. England's chase looked in control when Stokes was blazing away, but a double-wicket over from Shardul Thakur sent back Stokes and Eoin Morgan, swinging the momentum decisively India's way

He had waited for a long time to make his debut for India. He waited some more before he got to actually bat. And when he did, he ensured his first time batting for India wouldn't be forgotten. With Jofra Archer - one of England's two thunderbolt deliverers - pounding in a 144 kph back-of-length ball at his ribs, Yadav coolly moved inside the line, and hoicked a pull shot over fine leg, front leg in the air by the time he had pirouetted. As statements of intent go, it was tough to top that one.

Yadav continued with the same intent, if not at the same strike rate, but his bustle meant India had an ingredient that had been missing in their two defeats batting first in the series: a non-sputtering scoreboard up top. Yadav was imperious while driving, expertly skilful in manipulating the field when scoring runs behind the wicket, and nerveless in his shot-making. If there were any butterflies about batting in an India shirt for the first time, they were well hidden.



Sam Curran was brought on for his first over in the 14th of the innings, and his first ball was swept disdainfully over fine leg. Yadav attempted to repeat that shot next ball, but only got a top edge. Malan ran forward and grabbed the ball very low while still going forward, with palms facing down. The decision was referred to the third umpire, with the soft signal on-field being 'out'. Replays seemed to suggest the ball had touched the turf with Malan not having any fingers underneath it, but third umpire Virender Sharma ruled that there wasn't enough conclusive evidence to overturn the soft signal, and Yadav had to go.

It could have derailed India's innings, but Iyer came out and peppered the square and straight boundaries with elan, not only ensuring the run-rate or morale didn't flag but also keeping India on course for a winning total. The surge at the death was reined in slightly towards the end, as Archer finished with T20I-best figures of 4 for 33, while Mark Wood was menacingly impressive once again in his 1 for 25.



Virat Kohli gambled by throwing Hardik Pandya the new ball, and Pandya responded by bowling two overs in the powerplay while giving up only five runs.

Jason Roy took nine balls to get off the mark, and at the other end, Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Jos Buttler in the third over. Roy got a couple of streaky boundaries away before breaking free when Washington Sundar came on. What India's bowlers did well though, was in not letting England string together a sequence of heavy-duty overs. When England looked like stepping on it, the bowlers reined them back in. Pandya bowled his third and fourth overs well spaced out, one in the middle and one at the death, but each time his changes of pace foxed batsmen. He ended with 2 for 16 in four overs, in a game where the average run-rate was over nine. What England might have thought of as the bowler they could target, turned into one who had the most economical figures in the match.



England's depth meant they were still not out of it, even when the asking rate ballooned to almost 12 an over, with the team 79 for 3 in 11 overs. Stokes, who hadn't quite hit his batting stride so far in the series, started less than fluently, but a mow down the ground that went at light speed off Sundar at the start of the 12th over kicked him into high gear. Stokes began to find his timing and his range, while Jonny Bairstow was doing the same after an indifferent start. Even after Bairstow fell to Rahul Chahar - given an opportunity instead of Yuzvendra Chahal in this game - Stokes didn't slow down.

With England needing 46 from the last four, and Stokes having Eoin Morgan alongside, the visiting side were favourites. Thakur changed that within two balls, having both men caught mis-hitting slower balls. Thakur, who had shown an excellent repertoire of slower balls in the third T20I too, brought his variety into play once again and was difficult to line up. Once England had lost both Stokes and Morgan, India didn't let the advantage slip.

Saurabh Somani is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

[Lord Snooty]

Not proper cricket. Bring on The Hundred.

[themaclad]

Steady on LS

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India 224 for 2 (Kohli 80*, Sharma 64) beat England 188 for 8 (Malan 68, Buttler 52, Thakur 3-45, Kumar 2-15) by 36 runs

An unbeaten 80 by Virat Kohli and a stunning half-century by Rohit Sharma in an unfamiliar but effective opening partnership helped India set India up for a comfortable win in the fifth T20I before Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished it off to seal the series 3-2 in Ahmedabad.


India left out regular opener KL Rahul and brought in an extra bowler, T Natarajan, in a move Kohli described at the toss as prompted by a desire to "bring in a good balance with bat and ball". But there was no denying Rahul's struggles - he had made 1, 0, 0, and 14 in the series - and his absence meant Kohli would open for just the eighth time in T20Is. Kohli and Sharma combined for a 94-run stand from 56 balls to lead India to a commanding total of 224 for 2, their third-highest T20I total at home and fourth highest overall. Persisting with the back-of-a-length and short-pitched bowling which had brought them success through the series, England's attack looked toothless on this occasion as India's batsmen adapted and thrived.

England had said after India levelled the series 2-2 with an eight-run victory on Thursday that they would relish the pressure of a must-win clash as ideal preparation for the World Cup in October. They set out in pursuit needing to score at 11.2 an over and recovered from the early loss of Jason Roy as Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler carried them to 62 for 1 by the end of the powerplay, which compared favourably with India's 60 for 0, en route to a 130-run partnership.

But some wonderful bowling by Kumar - who claimed 2 for 15 from his four overs, including 17 dot balls and the vital wickets of Roy and Buttler on a batting-friendly pitch - damaged England's hopes beyond repair. Shardul Thakur accounted for Malan and Jonny Bairstow in the space of four deliveries, which left England needing 83 off the last five overs. When Eoin Morgan fell cheaply to Pandya, the task proved too much.


Going into the match with scores of 15 and 12 for the series after being rested for the first two matches, Sharma unleashed a masterclass of timing, power and elegance with an effortless-looking 64 off just 34 balls that consigned Kohli to the shade initially. No sooner had Kohli thumped Jofra Archer for a beautiful cover drive for four, Sharma signalled his intent, threading an Archer slower ball between point and cover for a boundary of his own. From there, Rohit took charge, nailing Adil Rashid over deep midwicket for the first of five sixes.

When Mark Wood came into the attack in the fourth over, India took 13 off it, including two fours that Rohit drilled straight back down the ground. Kohli brought up India's 50 with a huge six over long leg in Wood's next over and Rohit produced an almost identical shot three balls later. Wood, having taken 3 for 18 over the three previous powerplays he bowled in this series, ended up conceding 28 runs off two overs with nothing to show for it in this one. Rohit crashed sixes off Jordan, thudded over deep square leg, off Sam Curran to bring up his fifty having narrowly evaded Wood in the deep when his leading edge dropped short, and off Ben Stokes with an 83m hit down the ground. It was Stokes who finally made the breakthrough with a legcutter which Sharma dragged back onto his stumps to end an entertaining and valuable innings

Kohli took his cue at Sharma's dismissal and stepped into the limelight with an unbeaten 80 off 52 deliveries. He was well supported by Suryakumar Yadav, who had top-scored with 57 in the fourth match, which was just his second T20I. This time Yadav played a tidy cameo of 32, hitting not his first ball for six as he had in his previous innings, but his second and third, both off Rashid. After 10 overs, India had struck eight sixes. Only once had they hit more by the halfway stage of a T20I - 10 against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2009. Hardik Pandya was unbeaten with 39 off 17 but it was Kohli who provided the steel in an imposing India innings. He added another six to his earlier one off Wood and his seven fours, when he charged down the pitch to launch Stokes over long-on in the 13th over. He brought up his third fifty of the series with two clipped neatly through square leg off Wood and took 12 runs of Archer in the final over of the innings.


Chris Jordan's torrid time with the ball was epitomised when he all but nailed his yorker to Yadav only to watch the batsman thread it nonchalantly between point and third man. Jordan managed a wry smile at the time but he brought a grin to his team-mates' faces - none more so than Roy - with his hand in Yadav's eventual dismissal. Yadav lofted Rashid down the ground and Jordan, running full-pelt towards the boundary to his right from long-on, stuck out his right hand and the ball stuck beautifully. That was until Jordan's momentum continued to propel him over the rope and he had the presence of mind to lob it to Roy, waiting like a Cheshire cat at deep midwicket. The catch would go down next to Roy's name, perhaps adding insult to the injury of Jordan conceding 57 from four wicketless overs, but his brilliance in the field was undeniable. And, while it's little consolation, he wasn't the only England bowler left hurting - Wood went for 53 runs from his four overs.



When Kumar had Roy out for a duck on the second ball of England's chase, with one that swung in as the batsman charged down the wicket for an attempted slog over midwicket and clattered into middle and off, it was still India's game. But then England showed the might of a top order that the likes of Alex Hales - historical off-field issues aside - and Joe Root can't break into. England could have been tempted to tinker with line-up, with suggestions they should take a look at Stokes at No. 3, and they might have done had it been a dead rubber but, with the series on the line, they went with their full-strength side. Malan, the No. 1-ranked T20I batsman in the world, had not breached 25 in four innings going into the match. But his 68, combined with some power hitting by Buttler, who carted Rahul Chahar for two sixes in the eighth over and another in Chahar's next as the bowler conceded 20 runs in seven balls, kept England in the contest.


Malan also broke Babar Azam's record for the fastest batsman to 1000 T20I runs. Azam reached the mark in 26 innings, while Malan's knock took him to 1003 runs in 24 innings.

It was Kumar who had put England on the back foot and he struck again when Buttler holed out to Pandya at long-off for 52 in a pivotal 13th over of the innings yielding not only the wicket but just three runs. By that stage England had fallen considerably behind at 130 for 2, compared with India's 140 for 1. At the same time, Kumar had taken 2 for 9 from three overs to squeeze England before Thakur and Pandya accounted for Bairstow, Malan and Morgan in quick succession to leave the tourists short of answers.

Valkerie Baynes is a general editor at ESPNcricinfo

[themaclad]

Getting the phrase England batting collapse

ndia 317 for 5 (Dhawan 98, Rahul 62*, Krunal 58*, Kohli 56, Stokes 3-34) beat England 251 (Bairstow 94, Krishna 4-54, Thakur 3-37) by 66 runs

An ODI of fluctuating fortunes eventually went the way of India by a comfortable margin, giving them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The home side were grateful to a pair of fine debuts from Krunal Pandya and Prasidh Krishna, alongside vital contributions from several senior hands, as England collapsed after a dominant start to their chase had seen them reached 135 without loss in the 15th over.

Like Shikhar Dhawan earlier in the day, Jonny Bairstow fell narrowly short of a century - though the openers enjoyed success via starkly different methods. Dhawan set himself to bat for much of the innings, and helped lay the platform in partnership with Virat Kohli, although India needed the spark provided by Krunal's 26-ball fifty and an unbroken sixth-wicket stand with KL Rahul that yielded 112 from 57 at the death.

Bairstow, meanwhile, epitomises England's ultra-aggressive approach. He and Jason Roy had seemingly broken the chase by the time the first wicket fell, as the openers hared off to post their 12th century opening stand in ODIs. But England imploded spectacularly in the face of a renewed India bowling effort, led by Krishna and Shardul Thakur, both of whom recovered from expensive initial spells to share seven wickets between them

Krishna's dismissal of Roy triggered a period in which England lost two wickets and scored just two runs from the next 17 balls, with Bairstow starved of the strike. It would have been worse had Kohli held on to an outside edge coaxed by Krishna from Eoin Morgan's first delivery; the India captain immediately acknowledged his mistake by unsuccessfully trying to run out his counterpart, who had seemingly already begun to make his way back to the dressing room.

It was not to prove costly, as England slumped further when Thakur had Bairstow caught splicing a hook towards the deep-midwicket boundary six runs short of a century. Two overs later, Morgan and Jos Buttler were dismissed in the space of four balls from Thakur to leave England 176 for 5 - still well ahead of the required rate, but short on batsmen available to knock them off.

Moeen Ali and Sam Billings patched things up with a stand of 41 before Krishna struck again. There had been doubts about Billings' continued participation after he left the field with a "sprained collar bone joint" during the India innings, and although passed fit to bat he was unable to reprise his finisher role from the 2020 summer as he chipped tamely to extra cover.

With night-time dew taking effect and Ali finally benefitting from some time in the middle - his only previous England outing all winter had come in the second Chennai Test - England were still in contention. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar extracted Ali with a sharply seaming lifter and Krunal collected a wicket to go with his batting cameo as the tail were rounded up cheaply.

India's chief concern come the end was a shoulder injury suffered in the field by one of their own, as Shreyas Iyer walked off in obvious pain after getting his hand to a powerful Bairstow drive. Rohit Sharma, too, played no part during England's innings, having sustained a blow on the elbow from Mark Wood while batting.

The differences in approach to ODI cricket between these two sides were typified by the opening pairs. Dhawan and Sharma have scored almost 5000 runs together at the top of the order for India, but their success has been based upon steady accumulation early on before cracking on once set. Here, after being inserted, they settled for a period of reconnaissance against the new ball, with 15 runs coming from the first six overs, and 39 without loss in the powerplay.

By contrast, after allowing a few sighters from Kumar, the England openers opted for their big spoons. Bairstow was particularly belligerent, accelerating from 6 off 18 as England plundered the powerplay for 89 runs; he greeted the arrival of Kuldeep Yadav in the 12th over by clubbing him for four and six, raising a 40-ball fifty and England's 100 from consecutive deliveries.

India had taken until the 24th over to reach three figures, and they pushed a see-sawing innings beyond 300 only thanks to the efforts of Krunal and Rahul, who came together with the team on 205 for 5. The elder Pandya struck five of his first 14 balls for fours and added a couple of towering sixes for good measure on the way to the joint-fastest fifty on ODI debut - a milestone he celebrated with a thump of the helmet and a look to the skies.

Krunal's cap had been presented before play by Hardik Pandya and the brothers, who lost their father and mentor in January, shared another emotional embrace at the mid-innings interval.


India had seemingly ground their way into the ascendancy at 169 for 1, with Dhawan and Kohli motoring along ominously during a century stand. But the return of Wood, who had bowled a sharp opening spell, saw Kohli taken on the deep-midwicket boundary - making it 42 innings (and 16 fifties) since his last hundred - as England re-established their early stranglehold.

Stokes, who was playing his first ODI since the 2019 World Cup final, claimed three wickets including that of Dhawan, who pulled low into the hands of midwicket with his hundred beckoning. Iyer also departed attempting to hit Wood over the top, and with Hardik Pandya steering Stokes to slip India were in danger of falling short on a good surface.

England were largely excellent in the field, bar Ali dropping a straightforward chance in the deep offered by Dhawan on 59, as India lost 4 for 36 just as they were looking to press on. But the death bowling went awry in the face of some savage hitting, Rahul clearing the ropes four times in 62 from 43 as India's explosive finish ultimately proved enough to thwart their fast-starting opponents.

Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick