Rahul eases to ton as Morgan’s men are... HAMMERED SCOREBOARD
England’s summer underwent a seismic shift in Manchester last night — and the tremors may be felt for a while. after the freebies served up by a belowstrength australia, Eoin Morgan’s team were hit with the full force of India’s mystery spinners and galactico batsmen, losing the first of three Twenty20 internationals by eight wickets.
Ominously for England, India took their foot off the gas as they approached victory. Even more ominously — thanks to Kl Rahul’s superb 54ball century — Virat Kohli’s contribution was limited to an unbeaten 20. Talk about keeping your powder dry.
There were more runs for Jos Buttler, of course, but otherwise only Jason Roy and david Willey reached double figures as Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav bamboozled his way to five for 24.
That included three wickets in an over, after Eoin Morgan skied a heave to midwicket and both Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root were stumped first ball, playing forward more in hope than expectation, outwitted by the googly.
It was thrilling stuff, and it has marked England’s card. They should not be surprised. left-arm wrist-spin is the rarest genre, and unless they find a way to combat Kuldeep in Cardiff on Friday, the series finale in Bristol two days later could be a dead rubber.
‘He’s a very good bowler,’ said Morgan. ‘He’s going to be a big threat for India. Maybe we need to be a bit better about the way we go about our business. Everything happened so quickly.’
India were like men to australia’s boys. They also showed more snarl than a team neutered by sandpapergate.
Kohli had spoken before the game about how the growing participation of England players at the IPl had thawed relations between the sides. But Willey exchanged words with Bhuvneshwar Kumar after the Indian pulled out of delivering the final ball of England’s innings, and a pumped-up Kohli continued the conversation as the players walked off moments later. The Indian captain’s off-field velvet glove masks an on-field ball of fury. Watch this space.
It had all begun so well for England after Kohli invited them to bat on a glorious Manchester evening and in front of a crowd of 23,002 that sounded as if roughly 23,000 had flown in from India. They were quiet while Roy and Buttler put on 50 inside five overs, but found their voice when Roy edged fast bowler Umesh Yadav on to his stumps for 30.
nine days after his astonishing century here sealed a 5-0 one-day whitewash against australia, Buttler motored to a 29-ball halfcentury, his seventh score of 50 or more in his last nine international innings. But at the other end things were not going to plan.
alex Hales seemed to have left his timing somewhere between Manchester and Birmingham, where last week he clattered australia for 49 off 24, and was put out of his misery by Kuldeep, bowled round his legs for an 18ball eight.
Yet that looked like riches compared with what happened next. From 106 for two, England slid to 117 for six, Kuldeep’s wonder over followed by Moeen ali’s tame miscue off Umesh.
When Kohli held back Kuldeep’s final over, England briefly breathed again, with Willey taking 20 off the 17th, bowled by Bhuvneshwar. But Kuldeep returned to have Buttler caught at long- on for 69 from 46 balls, and India were in control.
not even the first-over dismissal of shikhar dhawan, bowled by Willey off the edge, could dent the suspicion that England’s 159 for eight was at least 30 below par.
India might have been slowed had Roy caught a fast, low chance at backward point when Rahul had just 17, but otherwise England had no answer to his flashing blade. The highlight of his hundred was 20 off an over from liam Plunkett, including a pull for six which coincided exactly with Harry Kane’s penalty against Colombia over in Moscow.
as England fans watching the football on a giant screen behind the pavilion went berserk, so did Indian fans inside the ground. If it felt more like Mumbai than Manchester.
It was always unlikely that Moeen and adil Rashid would recreate the havoc wreaked by Kuldeep, and so it proved. By the time Rohit sharma picked out Roy at extra cover, he and Rahul had added a decisive 123 in 11.4 overs of unmitigated mayhem.
How India must now hope the sun continues to shine and the pitches of England and Wales are baked dry. If so, their spinners could oust Kohli’s quest for personal redemption as the story of the summer.