Morgan punishes sloppy India in Kanpur Virat praises England bowlers for choking India
FIRST BLOOD England skipper scores 51, builds an 83run stand with Root to beat India by 7 wickets
KANPUR: Almost the entire season, Virat Kohli has put bat to ball and seen it turn to gold, but his move to open in his Twenty20 International captaincy debut only paid modest dividends as England pulled off a comfortable victory at the Green Park on Thursday.
India started with a 4-0 win in the Test series before beating the rivals in the ODIs 2-1. A similar start was expected in the T20I opener before a huge Republic Day crowd on Thursday, but it remained a dream.
To the surprise of fans, the India batsmen failed to make use of the batsman-friendly pitch after being sent in, and the bowlers failed to contain the England batsmen, who scripted a sevenwicket win with 11 balls to spare.
The win helped England stretch their winning record against India to six from nine matches in this format since 2007. Leading from the front, the most successful batsmen for England in shorter formats on this tour, skipper Eoin Morgan again underlined his utility, hitting a 38-ball 51.
From the first ball, Morgan looked confident as openers Jason Roy (22, 10, 3x4, 1x6) and Sam Billings (19, 11b, 2x6) set the tone. The two collected 20 runs from Jasprit Bumrah’s first over to help the team to 24 in two overs.
Thereafter, an 83-run thirdwicket partnership between Morgan and Joe Root (46*, 46b, 4x4) sealed India’s fate.
There were exciting moments when young leggie Yuzhvendra Chahal got two wickets in the first over. Roy played on off a loose drive, and Billings failed to read a quick one. In his second spell, Bumrah got Root in the 17th over but it was a no-ball.
Earlier, Kohli and his men could score just 147 for seven after being sent in. Barring MS Dhoni (36*, 27b, 3x4), Suresh Raina (34, 23b, 4x4, 1x6) and Kohli (29, 26b, 4x4), the others could not challenge the England bowlers. Off-spinner Moeen Ali finished with two for 21, and was declared man-of-the match.
Billed a “bowling terror”, Tymal Mills conceded 27 runs for one wicket. Facing Mills, Kohli played the first two deliveries with soft hands, but sent one of Mills’ fastest deliveries for a four to backward point. In the same over, KL Rahul slashed Mills’ short and wide delivery for four in similar fashion. In his first two overs, the Sussex bowler conceded 15 runs. KANPUR: India captain Virat Kohli accepted England were better in the first T20 in Kanpur that they won by seven wickets. “With the ball, in the field and with the bat, they were precise. Today England performed the way we know they can,” said Kohli.
“The opposition can upset you at any stage as we have seen in T20 cricket. I think we have played some really good cricket this season and deserve to enjoy these T20s. We have a young side, important for them to enjoy. It’s up to us seniors to take the load off them,” said Kohli.
As many as three England bowlers averaged under seven runs per over, including Man of the Match Moeen Ali who took 2/21. Kohli said the length bowled by England prevented India from going into an overdrive. “Credit to their bowlers for bowling hard lengths, they extracted pace and bounce. As I said, they were precise. Explosive start at the top, these are things we need to address and learn,” said Kohli.
Kohli was confident about getting more results from Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Yuzvendra Chahal who gave India a glimmer of hope with two wickets in the same over. “I have a lot of confidence in him. He bowls with the new ball as well with mid-on and midoff up. He has the wicket-taking ability and is confident in his skills. Youngster showing character is always a positive sign,” said Kohli.
England captain Eoin Morgan credited his bowlers for restricting to at least 30 runs below the par score. “Our bowlers were outstanding tonight. Moeen Ali in particular showed great resolve. We showed a lot of experience, and Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan put their hands up in very important roles. They made it very hard for the Indian batsmen on a small ground,” said Morgan.
Morgan featured in a matchwinning 83-run partnership with Joe Root who had missed the third ODI in Kolkata. Root said Morgan’s big-hitting helped him settle easily. “It did play a little bit better under lights,” said Root.