India caught cold in opener
Skipper Kohli fell for zero as India top order collapse proved costly with England easing to an eight wicket win in the first T20 International
AHMEDABAD: Rishabh Pant goes by his own manual to bring order to the house. He can audaciously reverse-lap James Anderson for four in Tests, and then a week later, at the same venue reverse scoop a charged up Jofra Archer for six.
That pre-empted shot, off the penultimate ball of the fourth over, would stay for long as the lasting image of the first T20I between India and England here on Friday.
The big picture though differently. Had it not been for Shreyas Iyer’s 67 off 48 balls, it would have been the only moment to savour for the hosts, who crumbled under pressure from England pacers, led by Archer, losing the plot.
Mark Wood kept cranking up pace, the speed gun showing 150kmph, and Chris Jordan joined forces. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid was at his wily best while Archer maintained his usual high standards as the Indian toporder was back in the dressing room, brooding over what went wrong, with an over left for the powerplay to get done.
At 22/3, the first T20I witnessed India’s lowest powerplay score batting first. They took 10.2 overs to notch 50 and reached triple figures only in 17 overs. Their final score of 124/7 in 20 overs wassurpassed by England in 15.3 overs.
This India T20 squad is in a sort of transition—in likely personnel change as well as in their playing style. Kohli mentioned in the pre-match conference that he is backing the batsmen to play more freely. It is a move away from India’s usual T20 playing style where one among the top three would play anchor and the others be the support cast with license to go for the kill. It did not help them end the trophy drought in T20Is at the top level.
But with the 2021 T20 World Cup, the first global competition in the format in five years, just over seven months away, Kohli thought the time was right for a shift in strategy. But to plot is one thing and to execute it against the No.1 T20I team in the world is another. That too from the first game.
None of the fresh blood inducted in the squad to be the agents of change – the likes of Surykumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan—found a place in the XI as India played it safe.
Rohit rested
There was a surprise in the offing though. A day after declaring that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were India’s first choice openers, Kohli had another declaration at the toss; the former had been rested.
Enter Shikhar Dhawan, who was a backup option till Thursday evening.
Sounds like a shootout for the second opener’s slot? It was not be as both KL Rahul and Dhawan fired blanks. The former was the first to go, prodding at a 140 kph-plus delivery from Archer, playing on to his stumps in the second over.
Dhawan followed three overs later as a brash attempt to play across the line against Wood resulted in the stump lights going bright red. To add to the hosts’ woes, in between the openers’ dismissals, Kohli fell for a duck as his mistimed shot against Rashid was caught at mid-off by Jordan.
Those three dismissals meant India were 20/3 in five overs. If batting freely was what the team management wanted, it was a free fall that they got. Playing with more freedom will still need some time to develop as a plan.
With the seniors gone, it was time for Pant to entertain. Till the time he stayed at the crease the left-handed wicketkeeper batsman did exactly that, with that reverse scooped six against Archer being the highlight.
But England pacers kept up pressure with their bounce, cramping up the Indians for space.
Pant felt the pressure as scoring came to a halt. And in an attempt to break the shackles, he holed one to deep square leg to Jonny Bairstow off Ben Stokes. In all, England captain Eoin Morgan used six bowlers, five among them either pacers or seamers.
At the innings break, India’s top-scorer Iyer mentioned variable bounce in the wicket which he said had made life difficult for the hosts to play their shots. Iyer, at No. 5, though kept his calm amidst the ruins, trusting the classical shots. Any hint of width and the 26-year-old made room to punch the ball through the off-side; anything at the stumps and he would play the glance.
Iyer too is facing the heat with the inclusion of Yadav in the squad. He did his chances a world of good with a standout knock.
Joined by Hardik Pandya in the 11th over with the scoreboard reading 48/4, the two ensured India didn’t lose anymore wickets till the 17th as the score crossed 100. They were involved in a 54-run stand off just 44 balls.
When Pandya departed in the 18thover in an attempt to flat-bat Archer over mid-off and was caught by Jordan, it started it another collapse that would see the hosts falling far short of a solid total.
England cruise
Defending a low total, India sensed a break first ball itself as Jason Roy’s half-hearted drive went up in the air, only to fall short of Pandya at cover. That and a LBW chance off Axar against Jos Buttler that would be turned down because of umpire’s call were the only chances India got.
Roy and Buttler took on the spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel. They were treated with as many as six sixes overall. Though the former bamboozled Buttler with his drift to trap him in front of the wicket, with the scoreboard reading 72/1 in eight overs, it did little damage.
With the asking rate low, England took their time to reach the target and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Brief scores: India 124/7 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 67; Jofra Archer 3/23) lost to England
130/2 in 15.3 overs (Jason Roy 49; Washington Sundar 1/18) by eight wickets.