by It was a back-and-forth night in Chennai, from an indecisive match to the final blow, the 20-a-side match at its best, initially belonging to Brydon Carse but ending in the arms of Tilak Varma. The Indian batting was both responsible and electric in a chase of 166, an unbeaten 55-ball 72 giving his team a 2-0 lead in this five-match series against England.
Carse threatened to win the match, his 17-ball 31 followed by three wickets silencing the crowd. With India demanding 40 off 30, but with just three wickets in hand, the match turned to the visitors. With Jofra Archer’s heat to pick up, Varma had a lot to do.
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But he had used it well earlier in the round, and he would do it again at the death. A top edge for six was fortunate, a guide on the rope behind point following the loose ball, England were quickly condemned to final figures of one for 60 from their four overs. Varma was responsible for half of that figure.
The drama didn’t end there as Adil Rashid dismissed Arshdeep Singh at the end of a miserable 17th over, with the strike now requiring some serious management from the sole remaining batter. But the nerves were held at Ravi Bishnoi’s side – a crucial nine runs from five – as Varma drove Jamie Overton through the covers, a memorable victory settled with four balls to spare.
It started as a Wednesday replay. India added Washington Sundar to their spinning attack from the first match of the series, ready to capitalize on England’s aversion to spinning. The offie all-rounder had entered the game from the start, hanging deep behind as Arshdeep, once again, dismissed Phil Salt in the opener. Ben Duckett was also cheap, with the innings resting on Jos Buttler.
Buttler was immense, just like he was in the first T20. He took away the sixes from Arshdeep, Sundar and Bishnoi, welcoming the slow stuff in a totally un-English way. At 58 for two, England could be happy with their numerical advantage.
But the introduction of Varun Chakravarthy was always going to be the key, his whistling google having undone Harry Brook three days before. Immediately there was a close call against Buttler and then came the aftermath of his deception in Kolkata. Brook was mystified by the ball that snuck past his front prod, the bail withdrawn, the pained smile an admission of utter defeat at the bad ‘un.
Buttler then fell to Axar’s tempters: what could be interpreted as a long jump climbs over the batter, causing an error. Buttler found left-armer deep mid-wicket on 45, while Liam Livingstone’s removal off the same bowler also went wrong.
With England five overs in 12 overs, the old world method would have been to consolidate, slow down a little before some late work. But this camp’s alpha mantra calls for striking six times when desperate, so they didn’t relent. Jamie Smith, on debut, hit Chakravarthy too long on his fourth ball and initially enjoyed Abhishek Sharma’s left-arm spin before falling to the timer for a 12-ball 22.
Carse also went aerial, managing to decode Chakravarthy with consecutive sixes. But England would have to be content with a respectable, not imposing, tally of early success with the ball required for a match.
Sharma, probably still bouncing from his 34-ball 79 the other night, responded with three offside boundaries against Jofra Archer. But Mark Wood, who turned 35 this month, remains a marvel, doing things with his body that make you fear for every muscle and bone. Wood recorded a speed of 92 mph as he hit Sharma’s pad for the first strike. The pull of Sanju Samson found Carse in the depths. The English rocket-only approach worked.
But Suryakumar Yadav and Varma, another member of India’s Oasis batting talent queue, began using speed to their advantage. Varma played the shot of the evening, dropping to his knees to help Archer over a fine leg for six.
Carse chimed in, his sliding, cramping rhythm changing the pace. He dragged Yadav to his stumps, before Adil Rashid took a swing at the economy. Carse then had Dhruv Jurel turn to replacement Rehan Ahmed at midwicket to leave India 66 for four.
Overton’s bounce prompted Hardik Pandya to hit Salt before Rashid turned with some wonderful shifts. But the leg-spinner made a crucial error in the field, dropping Sundar at half-time ahead of Wood with 70 required; the left-hander responded with a flurry of shots at the same time, 18 removed him to return India as favorites.
Carse, once again, had an answer, a cross-seamer hit on a length rattling Sundar’s stumps to leave India needing 47 off the last six. Axar then went to Livingstone with five overs remaining. But Tilak also stayed till the very end.
