Brilliant Bethell guides England to victory as India’s bowling falls apart at crucial moments
India – 190/7 (Abhishek Sharma 43 (24 balls), Ishan Kishan 49 (40 balls), Shreyas Iyer 37 (22 balls), Sam Curran 33/3) lost to England – 191/6 in 19 overs (Jacob Bethell 76 (46 balls), Harry Brook 39 (15 balls), Arshdeep Singh 40/3)
England win by 4 wickets – Man of the Match – Jacob Bethell
The 2nd T20 between India and England in Manchester turned into a topsy-turvy affair with both teams having their moments. Jacob Bethell, batting sedately till then, took down an erratic Ravi Bishnoi in the 17th over for 29 runs to seal the match in England’s favour. The Indian thinktank decided to go in with three spinners for the second game running, a choice that came back to haunt them at the end.
The big news of the day was the international debut of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, as he became the youngest cricketer to represent India. Opening alongside Abhishek Sharma as India elected to bat first, it was a trial by fire as both the batsmen were discomfited initially with the bounce generated by the English pacers, especially Jofra Archer.
Abhishek, in particular, looked quite scratchy. His initial 11 deliveries comprised multiple swing and misses and produced only 4 runs, that off an outside edged boundary. The second boundary came in his 12th ball, off an inside edge to fine leg. Sooryavanshi started relatively more assured, sweeping Archer for a six and then dispatching Josh Tongue for another massive six.
Josh Tongue struggled to find the right line and length as he tried to adjust to limited-overs cricket. Sensing an opportunity, Abhishek got going, finding his range as he started peppering the offside boundary with his lofted cover drives. Will Jacks was given the same treatment as Abhishek used his feet to hit inside out for another couple of boundaries. Sooryavanshi decided to be aggressive and stepped out in the same over, but the bowler saw him coming and bowled short to leave him stranded and get stumped. 14 in 10 balls, and Sooryavanshi had to go back to the pavilion after a promising, but ultimately unfulfilling innings.
Back to his usual best, Abhishek took Sam Curran to the cleaners in the final over of the powerplay. 15 runs were already scored in the over when he fell to a low full toss, caught at deep midwicket. Despite a slow start, he scored 43 in only 24 balls. The run rate was healthy enough for Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan to start rebuilding innings.
Shreyas, in particular, looked in good touch, pouncing on anything short towards the point or deep midwicket boundaries. Just when he was looking to take the game away from England, he lofted one towards deep extra cover fielder to be dismissed for a sprightly 37 in 22 balls. At 130/3 in 13 overs, India would have been looking to go big.
But Ishan, who had earlier been dropped by Phil Salt off the bowling of Rashid, and new man Dube could not get going. A couple of tight overs later, Sam Curran bowled a brilliant 16th over, using his full repertoire and conceding just 2 runs while dismissing Dube. He then got rid of Ishan (49 in 40 balls) in his next over and almost had Tilak Verma, but was denied as the umpires decided that Archer had grassed the catch at deep midwicket. Later, Tilak escaped again while taking a tight run as wicketkeeper Buttler’s throw for a run-out missed the stumps at his end and hit the non-strikers’ end, dismissing Axar Patel instead.
The Indian innings seemed to have stalled, and with 7 deliveries remaining, India were at 167/6. Harshit Rana connected the last delivery of the 19th over for a six, and then it was up to Tilak to take India to at least a par score. A couple of lusty blows from Tilak off Archer brought 17 runs in the over, and India finished at 190/7, a defendable score, but less than what India would have been hoping for after winning the toss.
The Indian openers had played and missed for the first two overs of the match without any consequences, but Phil Salt managed to edge the first ball he faced from Arshdeep to the keeper. 141* in the last T20I he played at this venue and a golden duck now, that’s life. India got even luckier as Buttler nailed a flick for Varun Chakravarthy, not the most athletic of fielders in the best of times, to pull off a stunner.
2 wickets down in the first over, Harry Brook was not going to let the bowlers dictate and started with a couple of boundaries off Harshit. But that was just the appetiser. Arshdeep was dispatched to literally all parts of the ground as Brook plundered 27 runs in his 2nd over, finishing the over with three consecutive sixes. Going for a sweep, Brook was eventually dismissed, caught behind off Axar Patel for 39 in 15 balls. Ultra edge confirmed the spike after the umpire had initially signalled a wide.
The Brook onslaught meant that the required run rate did not get out of hand. Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton ensured that England did not lose further wickets halfway into their innings. For India, a couple of expensive overs were offset by the excellent Axar Patel, easily the best Indian bowler on this day. While the other spinners concentrated on bowling faster and faster, he varied his speed and length just right to keep the batsmen guessing.
Arshdeep recovered well, conceding only 3 runs and picking up the wicket of Banton in the 13th over. Jacks departed in the 16th over, and England needed 49 from 24 deliveries with 5 wickets remaining. Things looked difficult for England, and someone had to play a special knock to make a match of it. Bethell was going at a strike rate of just over 110 and needed to change gears.
The 17th over by Ravi Bishnoi was just the chance he needed. Struggling with his rhythm, two backfoot no-balls in his first two deliveries of the over were clobbered for sixes. His mind scrambled, Bishnoi just lost the plot as Bethell took a heavy toll on the bowler, as 29 runs were scored. The match had turned, and Bethell started showing off as he reverse ramped Harshit Rana for another six. Sam Curran got dismissed soon, but the match had gone away from India by that time. Bethell, with 76 runs in 46 balls, was deservedly the Man of the Match.
India would be left wondering at what could have been. They had control of the match till the 17th over, but an off day for a player proved too costly. Again, the support staff would have to face some tough questions here. A player going for runs is natural, but a spinner bowling three backfoot no-balls in a match would indicate some deficiency and a failure to pay attention to details by those concerned.
At the end, two brilliant innings, one from Brook and another from Bethell, made the difference. Two overs went for a combined 56 runs, and the match was decided there. With the first match of the series ending in no result, England leads the series 1-0.