England overcame India by four wickets on Saturday in Manchester thanks to an undefeated 76 from Jacob Bethell in the second Twenty20 International. The first game was washed out.
As England chased down the target of 191 in 19 overs, Bethell hit five sixes and five fours in his 46-ball knock.
In a thrilling opening spell, India’s left-arm bowler Arshdeep Singh dismissed both openers, Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, for ducks, shocking England.
But before leading the home team to victory, Harry Brook (39), Bethell, and Tom Banton (39) rebuilt the innings with vital partnerships.
Earlier, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s eagerly anticipated and highly anticipated debut ended in a whimper, before India scored 190/7 in cloudy, windy conditions thanks to Tilak Varma’s heroics in the final over.
Even though it may have fallen short of the par score of 200, Tilak (24 no off 11 balls), whose batting strategy has under harsh criticism, hammered Jofra Archer (1/40 in 4 overs) for 17 in the 20th over to lead India to a reasonable total.
The world received the first glimpse of a 15-year-old rookie who surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s nearly 37-year-old record at the international level, but batting was challenging due to the extra bounce and cross winds on a skiddy pitch.
But Jos Buttler stumped him off off-spinner Will Jacks after he managed 14 from 10 balls, including two sixes and two singles.
Ishan Kishan (49 off 43 balls), captain Shreyas Iyer (37 off 22 balls), and Abhishek Sharma (43 off 24 balls) all got some runs but only appeared at ease in certain areas as England bowlers mixed things up rather nicely.
Particularly scratchy was Kishan, who was unable to pick the slower and altered-length deliveries that the spinners bowled.
Ishan Kishan (49 off 43 balls), captain Shreyas Iyer (37 off 22 balls), and Abhishek Sharma (43 off 24 balls) all got some runs but only appeared at ease in certain areas as England bowlers mixed things up rather nicely.
Particularly scratchy was Kishan, who was unable to pick the slower and altered-length deliveries that the spinners bowled.
As England bowlers varied things up pretty nicely, Ishan Kishan (49 off 43 balls), captain Shreyas Iyer (37 off 22 balls), and Abhishek Sharma (43 off 24 balls) all scored some runs but only seemed comfortable in specific areas.
Kishan was especially scratchy because he couldn’t select the slower, altered-length deliveries that the spinners produced.
Abhishek played and missed about ten of the first twelve balls. Archer pitched it on hard length, accelerated it to 90 miles per hour, and caused it to veer off course.
Even Sooryavanshi, on the other end, found it difficult to handle the additional bounce but managed to score a six each, first when Archer attempted to squeeze him for space and the left-hander played a no-look whip-scoop behind for a six. The shot over long-on against Josh Tongue was a more recognizable IPL-style hoick.
But Jacks bowled a wide loopy off-break, which Sooryavanshi rushed out and missed by a foot and a half to be stumped when England captain Harry Brook correctly introduced him.
After a period of play and miss, Abhishek found his rhythm again against bowlers who were slower than Archer.
He played the field brilliantly, focusing on the shorter side, and it was still hitting through the line that got him to 43.
When his snap flick off a Curran full-toss hit Tom Banton, who was positioned at least 15 metres inside the mid-wicket boundary, he ought to be regretting his good fortune.
