India power way to T20 series victory
England suffered a rare setback in Twenty20 cricket yesterday as they failed to match India’s hitting power in an entertaining series decider in Ahmedabad.
Eoin Morgan’s men had lost just one of their previous 10 series, also to India in 2018, but were unable to maintain the furious pace that held for the first 30 overs and went down by 36 runs as the hosts sealed a 3-2 scoreline.
India racked up 224 for two, Virat Kohli carrying his bat for 80 not out as England’s attack conceded 11 sixes and 18 fours, but they were made to fight for their spoils.
A stand of 130 between a resurgent Dawid Malan (68) and Jos Buttler (52) gave them every chance of a remarkable chase, but two huge overs from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur removed both from the equation.
Kumar finished with matchwinning figures of two for 15, defining a high-scoring match, as England’s once promising pursuit fell off a cliff to finish 188 for eight.
Despite the result, the most memorable moment of the day belonged to Chris Jordan, who produced an incredible onehanded catch and offload to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav – the latest in a career-long highlights reel of world-class fielding.
Kohli revealed at the toss that he would be opening the batting, KL Rahul having played his way out of the job, and executed the role to perfection.
Batting through the full 20 overs, he allowed Rohit Sharma, Yadav and Hardik Pandya to tee off around him but still finished with a strike-rate of almost 154.
As a combination of aggression and anchoring, it was flawless.
Rohit’s 64 grabbed top billing in the first nine overs, with five sixes and four fours setting the tone for a high-scoring innings. An early swipe off Adil Rashid got him in the mood and his ability to hit Mark Wood off his length turned England fastest and most economical bowler of the series into a non-factor.
His assault finally ended when he dragged a Ben Stokes legcutter into his stumps but, at 94 for one, the stage was set.