Kohli digs in as England hit back with pace in 2nd T20
CARDIFF: England’s decision to stick to their strengths and take India on with pace might pay off in the second T20 at Sophia Gardens on Friday as they restricted India to 148/5.
Jake Ball, David Willey and Liam Plunkett made the most of a livelier pitch and pinned the Indian top-order. After losing their top three batsmen for 22 runs, India never recovered. Virat Kohli offered resistance but was out for a 38-ball 47 in the 18th over. If India had expected to find a demoralised England after the drubbing they meted out to the hosts, they were confronted by an aggressive unit.
The England pace unit was charged up under clear skies. It was another warm day but the wicket had a bit more grass than Manchester. India were on the backfoot straightaway. Rohit Sharma couldn’t find his range against David Willey, who kept the ball up and generated late movement, only one run coming off the first over. The lanky Jake Ball offered a different challenge to the openers, keeping it short and making the ball rise. Rohit did play an off-drive for four but off the last ball, miscued an intended pull to be caught.
Shikhar Dhawan was run out, paying the price for not following the basics of grounding the bat.
To add to their woes, first game’s centurion KL Rahul was bowled, when he tried to make room in trying to target Plunkett over cover.
It was a fine comeback for Plunkett after getting the treatment from Rahul in the first game, giving away just 17 runs from his four overs.
Some teams do make the mistake of trying to take on the opposition with a like for like attack, but seldom it pays off. But, captain Eoin Morgan resisted the temptation of trying to match India’s spin strength.
Instead of looking to neutralize the edge that Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal give India with their wrist spin, England dropped Moeen Ali and played with a pace heavy artillery. It worked well for Adil Rashid too. Brief Scores India 148/5 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 47, S raina 27, Ms Dhoni 32 not out; Willey 1/18, Plunkett 1/17)