England pacers dominate Indian batters, Men in Blue post competitive 170/8

After the initial hammering by Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, India's innings came crashing down due to frequent fall of wickets but recovered well in the later part of the innings to score 170-8 against England in the 2nd T20I here on Saturday.

Birmingham:England pacers, led by Richard Gleeson and Chris Jordan, dominated the Indian batters in the second T20I here at Birmingham as Men in Blue posted a competitive 170/8 in their 20 overs, with efforts from captain Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja proving extremely valuable for the visitors.

Indian batters maintained the aggressive intent in their batting from the first match, but English bowlers took advantage of it by making the opponents go for rash shots and losing their wickets. Chris Jordan (4/27) and debutant Richard Gleeson (3/15) were the best bowlers for England. Contributions from skipper Rohit Sharma (31), Rishabh Pant (26) and Ravindra Jadeja (46*) proved to be the highlights of the Indian innings.

Put to bat first by England, India was off to a good start. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant accompanied Rohit Sharma as an opener. The duo maintained good running between the wickets and were dealing in fours and sixes, with the captain Rohit being more aggressive of two.

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The 49-run stand between the duo was over after debutant Richard Gleeson got his maiden T20I wicket in form of the Indian skipper for 31 off 20 after a top edge off Rohit's bat went straight into the gloves of wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. Virat Kohli was next up on the crease. Pant struck spinner Moeen Ali for a four and six in the sixth over, taking India to 61/1 at the end of their powerplay, with Pant (26*) and Virat Kohli (1*).

The next over started on an amazing note for Gleeson, as he got both Kohli and Pant for 1 and 26 respectively in the first two balls of the over. Gleeson in his debut had taken the wickets of three of India's biggest batting stars and turned the match in his side's favour. India was 3 wickets down at 61 runs.

The duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya joined hands to revive India's innings. The duo looked really good, hitting some shots crossing the boundary line. At the end of 10 overs, India was at 86/3, with Pandya (9*) and Yadav (15*). Their budding partnership was cut short at 28-runs after Yadav was dismissed for 15 by pacer Chris Jordan after the batter was caught for 15 by Sam Curran at deep midwicket while attempting to pull a length ball.

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Hardik Pandya was also caught by Dawid Malan for just 12 on the very next ball at the backward point, sounding an alarm for Indians, who had lost half of their batting lineup for 89 runs. Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Karthik were on the crease, with a responsibility to take India safely through the second half of the innings. The duo kept the scoreboard moving for a while, but Karthik was run out for 12 off 17 by keeper Buttler, reducing India to 122/6, ending a 33-run stand between the duo.

Harshal Patel joined Jadeja on the crease. Patel tried to add some acceleration in the innings, hitting a four and a six but was caught by Gleeson for 13 while trying to hit the ball over deep third man. Chris Jordan had captured his third wicket of the match, downing India to 145/7.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined Jadeja on the crease. Jadeja kept going for India till the very end, taking them to a competitive total. Kumar was dismissed soon. India finished their innings at 170/8, with Jadeja (46*) and Jasprit Bumrah (0*) standing unbeaten. Chris Jordan (4/27) and debutant Richard Gleeson (3/15) troubled India with their tight bowling.

Brief Scores:India: 170/8 (Ravindra Jadeja 46*, Rohit Sharma 31, Chris Jordan 4/27) against England.