In a nail-biting finish, India secured a thrilling two-wicket victory over England in the second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, extending their unassailable lead to 2-0 in the five-match series.
Opting to field after winning the toss, India made two changes to their playing XI, bringing in Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel for Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh. England, meanwhile, replaced Gus Atkinson with Brydon Carse and handed a debut to Jamie Smith in place of the unwell Jacob Bethell.
England’s innings got off to a shaky start, losing Philip Salt (4) early to Arshdeep Singh. Ben Duckett (3) fell to Sundar, and Harry Brook (13), despite a promising start, was once again dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy. Captain Jos Buttler looked in fine touch, scoring a well-made 45, but his dismissal triggered a mini-collapse. Smith (22) showed promise on debut, but the visitors struggled to build partnerships, losing wickets at crucial junctures. Carse’s (31) counterattacking cameo ended in a run-out, leaving England with a below-par total of 165/9.
India’s spin quartet proved to be the thorn in England’s side, conceding just 118 runs in 14 overs across five bowlers. Chakravarthy and Axar Patel picked up two wickets each, while Sundar and Abhishek Sharma chipped in with one apiece. The spinners were ably supported by Arshdeep and Hardik Pandya, who each claimed a wicket.
Chasing 166 for victory, India also encountered early setbacks, losing both openers Abhishek (12) and Sanju Samson (5) to the pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Suryakumar Yadav (12) got off to a quick start but soon departed. However, Tilak Varma anchored the chase with a mature and unbeaten 72 off 55 balls, finding valuable support from Ravi Bishnoi (9*).
England threatened to stage a comeback with crucial wickets from Carse and Adil Rashid, but Archer’s expensive spell, conceding 60 runs in his four overs, ultimately proved costly. In the end, India crossed the line with four balls remaining, securing a hard-fought victory.
Tilak Varma was adjudged Player of the Match for his match-winning innings.
Scorecard:
England: 165-9, Overs 20, Jos Buttler 45, Axar Patel 2/32
India: 166-8, Overs 19.2, Tilak Varma 72*, Brydon Carse 3/29
