England woe after horror start for Jos
THE Jos Buttler era got off to an underwhelming start in Southampton as england were thrashed by India in the first T20 international by 50 runs.
Their new skipper fell first ball, Liam Livingstone also made nought, and Jason Roy a horrible four off 16 deliveries as the hosts messed up a chase of 199.
Baz-ball this was not and, right now, english cricket feels upside down.
Ranked No 1 in the world in this format, India enjoyed the best of the conditions. The sun shone after they chose to bat on a firm, true Ageas Bowl surface, and the lights shone when they bowled, seemingly adding nip off the pitch.
The new-ball efforts of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, debutant left-armer Arshdeep Singh, who began with a maiden, and Hardik Pandya were superb.
India’s six-over powerplay brought them a solid 66 for two, with captain Rohit Sharma giving them a flying start with 24 off 14. By contrast, england limped to 32 for three in their powerplay as India swarmed all over them.
The first four balls of the chase had produced just a single for Roy off Bhuvneshwar, leaving Buttler on strike for only his second T20 innings since he took the IPL by storm with Rajasthan Royals.
Dawid Malan edged Pandya on to his stumps for 21, and it was 29 for three when Livingstone provided wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik with a simple catch.
When Roy top-edged Pandya all the way to third man, england were 33 for four.
After Yuzvendra Chahal removed Harry Brook and Moeen Ali in the 13th over, england’s chances went from slim to none.
The tourists looked destined for at least 220 after reaching 141 for four after 13 overs, following Deepak Hooda’s 33 off 17 balls and Suryakumar Yadav’s 39 off 19.
Reece Topley took the important wicket of Pandya for a 33-ball 51. Between them, Topley and Chris Jordan conceded just nine off the 18th and 19th overs as the tourists had to settle for 198.
‘We’ve been out-played today,’ Buttler told Sky Sports.