England short in thrilling bid
(12) H Dunlop 4 11-0 (BF) .... Miss Page Fuller (3) (10) P Morris 6 11-0 ............ Mr S Walker (15) Mrs M Fife 4 10-13 ..... Miss Becky Smith (3) (18) A McGuinness (IRE) 9 10-13 (C, D2)Mr L McGuinness (21) Kevin Frost 4 10-11 (CD) ........ Mr Alex Edwards (3)DLoughnane410-10 ....... MrJJO’Neill(5) (3) W Brisbourne 7 10-7 (CD) ........ Becky Brisbourne (3) (12) J G O’Shea 9 10-6 (CD2) ........ Brodie Hampson (20) H Tett 8 10-5 (C, D2) .......... Mr C A Jones (7) BETTING: 11-4 Pushkin Museum, 4 Oor Jock, 5 Mr Chuckles, 6 Tribesman, 7 Fossa, Lightsome, 12 Louis Vee, 20 Ocotillo, 33 Gypsy Rider. (4) W Haggas 9-11 (C2) ....................... A Kirby (225) D Ivory 9-9 ................. Lulu Stanford (5) (21) J Osborne 9-7 (D)Lucy Barry (5) (3) D Steele 9-6 (CD) ..................... K Schofield (7) (12) D M Simcock 8-10 ............ Josephine Gordon (10) J J Quinn 8-4 ............................ J Fanning (15) P Evans 8-2 ....................................... A Mullen poor calls from the Hyderabadi official but England might still have crossed the line had Bumrah not closed things out clinically, conceding just two runs for a fiverun win.
Shamshuddin’s decision was met with angry incredulity by Root, who at least did his best to turn his head away from the official as he gave vent to his frustrations.
In the first innings the 46-year-old had judged India skipper Virat Kohli not out to a clear lbw and also gave Yuvraj Singh the benefit of the doubt on a tighter shout from Moeen Ali.
But gripes over sub-par officiating should not entirely overshadow some engrossing cricket on a low-scoring pitch where KL Rahul’s 71 in 47 balls was ultimately a match-winning turn in a total of 144-8.
Both teams bowled with efficiency and guile on a tricky surface for the batsmen but while Rahul was able to turn his score into something substantial, the highest T20 score by an Indian against England, Root and Ben Stokes were finished at 38.
Chris Jordan, with three for 28, and Moeen Ali, whose four overs cost just 20, were the pick of the English attack but India were just as accomplished in the field.
Bumrah and Ashish Nehra took a combined five for 48 in their eight overs as England finished short on 139-6.
“We were in the driving seat right up until the last over. Needing eight runs off the last over, you’d probably win the game 99 times out of a hundred,” said skipper Morgan.
““It’s unbelievably disappointing to lose this game but you’ve got to take it on the chin. It’s one-all in the series and we go to Bangalore and we’re looking to clinch the series.”