OdishaLIVE Bureau
England played India in the first T20 match at Old Trafford and were beaten by the Indian side who performed brilliantly both with the ball and the bat.
- India beat England in the first T20 match comprehensively by 8 wickets
- Man of the Match Kuldeep Yadav takes 5 wickets
- KL Rahul smashes a brilliant ton at Old Trafford
India win Toss
India won the toss and opted to field, first. Openers Jason Roy and Jos Butler gave England a brilliant start with both of them smashing the Indian bowlers. They made England’s total reach till 50 runs in just 4.5 overs until Umesh Yadav got Jason Roy bowled. Jos Butler continued to smash the ball and made his fifty in just 29 balls.
Kuldeep comes in
But in came Kuldeep Yadav who crushed the England middle order. He first got out Alex Hales for just 8 runs and then got skipper Eoin Morgan, Johnny Bairstow and Joe Root out in the same over. Jos Butler needed someone to support him at the other end and he got it in the form of David Willey. But, Butler himself got soon out for a well made 69 out of 46 balls when he was caught by skipper Kohli and yet again Kuldeep Yadav took this one and completed his five-wicket haul. At the end of his spell, he had bowled out 4 overs from which he conceded 24 runs and took 5 wickets.
David Willey’s cameo
Willey continued to smash and helped England reach a respectable score of 159. The Indian bowlers performed tremendously with Kuldeep at the heart of it while Umesh Yadav, chipped in with 2 wickets and Hardik Pandya taking 1 wicket.
India start poorly
India needed to 160 runs from 120 balls to win and they looked like the favourites with their openers in full form, coming into the match. But England started their bowling brilliantly, getting Shikhar Dhawan out early for just 4 runs.
Rahul at first Down
KL Rahul stepped in at No.3 and took the game away from England. Almost every ball he hit seemed to be coming off the middle of the bat. He showed a touch of everything. At times he timed the ball to perfection and at other times he used his power and smashed the ball over the boundary. Rohit Sharma at the other end was providing him the support that was needed. But, he got out at 32 when he was caught at covers.
Second T20 Century
Soon, KL Rahul scored his second T20 century which included 10 fours and 5 sixes at a strike rate of over 180. Skipper, Eoin Morgan would be disappointed as his team could have got him out at two different opportunities – one at 17 when Jason Roy dropped him at Backward point and another at 37 when Chris Jordan spilled a chance although it was a tough one. Indian skipper Virat Kohli finished things off in style with a six and India registered their first win of the T20 series by 8 wickets.
(Story: Raunaq Dash, Edit: Sriram Singh Rattan)
