Nagpur: India produced an inspired bowling display to deny England their first limited-over series in the country since 1984, winning the second T20I here Sunday by five runs. With the win, the hosts levelled the series 1-1 with the decider is scheduled to be played at Bangalore, February 1.
India posted 144 for eight after being sent into bat in the VCA Stadium. England, seemingly in control, faltered at the end to be restricted to 139 for six.
Young pacer Jasprit Bumrah (20/2) bowled an inspired last over, conceding only two runs, to deny England a victory. Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra (3/28) also contributed to India’s win.
Nehra struck twice in his second over, having Sam Billings and Jason Roy in the next ball after a steady start. The twin strikes jolted England. Skipper Eoin Morgan and Joe Root took the score to 65 for two in 10 overs before Amit Mishra dismissed Morgan.
Ben Stokes then added 52 runs with Root for the fourth wicket. Nehra broke the stand to put the pressure on the visitors. With 24 was required off 12 balls, Nehra conceded 16 runs, leaving eight runs to win in the last over.
In the first ball Bumrah dismissed Root before castling Buttler in the fourth ball. He then successfully held the visitors from achieving the target.
Earlier, India posted a paltry total of 144 for eight. Opener KL Rahul was the top scorer for the hosts while Manish Pandey contributed with a crucial 30 runs.
Put in to bat, Indian opener Virat Kohli failed to convert his start. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh too failed to impress. Rahul and Pandey however added a crucial 56 runs before English bowlers denied India to accelerate in the death overs.
IANS
