BIRMINGHAM: Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 46 before the bowlers wreaked havoc over the England batting line-up to power the touring side to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.
Indian bowlers dominated the hosts’ batting line-up, bowling them out for 121, resulting in a comprehensive 49-run victory in the second T20I.
Following England captain Jos Buttler’s invitation to bat first, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant provided a solid start for the touring side, charging the hosts’ bowlers with a dominant approach in the powerplay.
The openers, however, could not keep going for long as England’s debutant Richard Gleeson claimed his maiden international wicket by removing Rohit for 31. He faced 20 deliveries and smashed three boundaries and two sixes in the course of his blistering knock.
The rest of the Indian batters then could not capitalize on the solid foundation as they kept walking back to the pavilion after making small contributions.
Gleeson continued to shine on his debut as he removed former top-ranked batter Virat Kohli (1) and another opener Pant to increase his tally to three. Pant scored a quickfire 26 off 15 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and a six.
England right-arm veteran pacer Chris Jordan then wreaked havoc over the Indian middle-order and began to claim wickets at an astonishing rate and soon caused India to slip to 89/5 in the 11th over.
Following another brief collapse, Indian all-rounder Jadeja stood up for his team and played a gritty unbeaten knock of 46 and bolstered the touring side to a commendable total of 170/8 with his late power-hitting, while the tailenders were making their way back with paltry contributions. He faced just 29 deliveries and smashed five boundaries.
For England, debutant Gleeson impressed with three wickets, while Jordan bagged four for 27 in his four overs.
Set to chase 171, the English batting line-up failed completely and could only manage to score 121 before being bowled out in 17 overs.
All-rounder Moeen Ali and David Willey, resisted a bit against the firing Indian bowling with their gritty knocks, while the rest of the batters seemed clueless.
Moeen top-scored for the side with a quickfire 35 off 21 balls, laced with three boundaries and two sixes, while Willey remained unbeaten with 33 off 22 deliveries with the same tally of boundaries.
For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the way with three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal bagged two each. Harshal Patel and Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, struck out a batter each.
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