IND vs ENG 2018: Rohit Sharma Calls Kuldeep Yadav & KL Rahul Freaks
India began their tour of England on a brilliant note by thrashing the in-form hosts in the first T20 International on Tuesday. The two prime architects of the thumping win were Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul.
The chinaman spinner took a career-best 5 for 24, including three in an over, before KL Rahul scored a century to guide India to a comfortable win.
Asked to bat first, England were comfortably placed at 95 for 1 in the 12th over before Kuldeep began his demolition job. As a result, England lost their next four wickets for just 12 runs to found themselves reeling at 107 for 5. They eventually managed to post a modest 159 for 8. The only batsman to put up a fight was the in-form Jos Buttler, scoring 69 from 46 balls as the wickets fell around him.
England made a quick start to their innings. Jason Roy and Buttler added 50 runs inside 5 overs before Umesh Yadav ended the partnership when Roy (30) dragged one onto his stumps.
At 95 for 1, England were looking set to score a good total. However, India soon took command of the proceedings. He dismissed Alex Hales to trigger a collapse. In his next over, he took three wickets to completely demolish England. Eoin Morgan (7) holed out to the first ball before Jonny Bairstow (0) and Joe Root (0) were both stumped. In his last over, he dismissed Buttler to complete his maiden five-wicket haul.
After that, it was Rahul???s turn to shine. He batted in top gear right from the start. Rahul hit a six off the third ball he faced, by dispatching a full Chris Jordan delivery over covers. He came to the crease in the very first over after Shikhar Dhawan departed cheaply. He and Rohit Sharma then steadied the ship and laid the foundation for the chase. The duo added 123 runs for the second wicket to all but seal England???s fate.
Adil Rashid broke the stand by dismissing Rohit for 32. Rahul, however, remained till the end, reaching his century off 53 balls. India eventually reached the target in the 19th over.
After the game, Rohit Sharma took to Twitter to lavish praise on Kuldeep and Rahul, writing:
???How good were these two guys yesterday @klrahul11 @imkuldeep18 #Freaks #TeamIndia???
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