Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav’s magical spell of wrist spin was complemented by KL Rahul’s dazzling strokeplay as India started their tour of England on a resounding note, winning the opening T20 International by eight wickets on Tuesday.
Young Kuldeep (5/24 in 4 overs) became the first chinaman bowler to take a five-for in shortest format as he singlehandedly restricted England to below-par 159 for 8 on a flat deck.
Then it was the turn of opener Rahul, who smashed his second T20 International hundred en route his 54-ball-101 as India comfortably chased the target in 18.2 overs.
He added 123 runs for the second wicket with Rohit Sharma (32 off 30 balls), who played the role of second fiddle to perfection.
Rahul’s innings had 10 fours and as many as five sixes and Manish Pandey’s injury proved to be a blessing in disguise as the talented Karnataka opener got a chance at No 3 with skipper Virat Kohli pushing himself down the order.
It was the Indian captain, who finished the match with a six off Moeen Ali to remain unbeaten on 20.
After 20 overs,England 159/8 ( David Willey 29 , Liam Plunkett 3)
So England finish with 159/8. This should be an easy target for India but make no mistake England will come out hard and try to defend this total. They have the quality at helm to bowl India out.
Kuldeep Yadav’s last three T20Is:
5/24 v England, today
3/16 v Ireland, Dublin
4/21 v Ireland, Dublin
After 19 overs, England 151/8 ( David Willey 25 , Liam Plunkett 1)
Ordinary stuff from England. They are not looking at a very low score. They need to get a minimum of 20 runs in the last over.
OUT! Kuldeep has CLEAN BOWLED Alex Hales. The batsman went on the knees to sweep but the ball came in to him and hit the stumps. Hales b Kuldeep Yadav 8(18)
Fifty for Buttler… Buttler is a completely transformed player. Not just form this, but a different mentality as if he now knows what he is capable of. Won’t say it is all down to IPL/BBL and other T20 leagues, but surely that was a huge factor.
OUT! Roy tries to pull the ball but chops it on the stumps. Game Over for him in this match. Umesh with the first wicket. Roy b U Yadav 30(20)
50 up for England after 4.5 overs.
FOUR! Boundary to end the fourth over. Both England openers are dealing in boundaries at the moment. ENG 44-0 after 4 overs.
Expensive first over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes to an end. ENG 11-0 after 1 over.
Four! Little room outside off stump, enough for Jason Roy who punched it standing at the same place. First boundary for England.
England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jos Buttler(w), Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Lokesh Rahul, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
Virat Kohli has won the toss and opted to bowl in the first T20I.
Team India got exactly the kind of start they needed to their English summer with a couple of wins against Ireland in Dublin. Although the two-match T20I series posed few threats, it was match practice ahead of the gruelling England tour and gave some momentum to the Indian team. The real battle starts now as they take England in the 1st T20 International at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday.
Both India and England seem to be in fine nick ahead of the opening match. On one hand, India have looked extremely solid in their batting, giving selection headaches to skipper Virat Kohli and the team management. Both regular Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have piled up runs. Add to that, KL Rahul, with his epic knock on Friday, also presented his bid in the top slot.
The middle-order, although was not tested during the Ireland T20Is still has enough meat in the shape of Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni.
