First T20: India Beaten Comprehensively
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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By Slogger
First publised on 2021-03-13 07:01:14
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
On a surface that was ideal for batting, the Indian team made a hash of things through irresponsible batting resulting in several soft dismissals and ended up with a paltry score of 124 for 7 to hand a comprehensive victory to the Englishmen in the first T20 of the five-match series. Although the England bowlers bowled impeccably and with a lot of variation, there were no demons in the pitch and the Indian top order collapse was unexpected and indefensible, especially in the manner Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli got out. Dhawan played a lazy shot and Kohli did not get to the pitch of the ball in playing it straight in the hands of the fielder. With three wickets down for just 8 runs, it was always going to be difficult. Yet, in-form Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer tried to make a match out of it by going after the rare loose balls. But Pant once again got out trying to force the pace and misjudging the length. He was very angry with himself but India were in deep trouble.
It was a pleasure watching Iyer bat as he effortlessly picked the gaps with proper cricketing shots and kept the scoreboard ticking. For a time, Hardik Pandya supported him well by rotating the strike but since India were way behind in their quest for a winning total, the need was for both batsmen to fire. But Pandya was rusty and could neither hit the ball well nor find the gaps. He too perished in trying to get out of the rut. The Indian display was pathetic and left England an easy target. The Englishmen achieved it with 8 wickets and 27 balls to spare. None of the Indian bowlers impressed. India will have to tighten their belts and quickly get their combination right if they have any desire to win the five-match series.
