Bouncing back strongly from the heavy defeat in the first T20I, England restricted India to a modest 148 for 5 in the do-or-die second game in Cardiff.
With the series on the line, the hosts needed a strong start after their skipper Eoin Morgan decided to bowl first. And they could not have asked for a better start. India were three down with just 22 runs on the board. Rohit Sharma was the first to depart when he edged a Jake Ball delivery behind the stumps after scoring 5.
Shikhar Dhawan soon followed him after his carelessness led to his run out. And even before India could recover that setback, they suffered another huge blow. Last match’s hero KL Rahul was castled by Liam Plunkett for just 6. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina then stopped the rot as India finished the powerplay on 31 for 3.
Runs were not coming at a good rate but India managed to keep the wickets intact. At the end of the tenth over, the scoreboard was reading 52 for 3. In the following over, Kohli hit Adil Rashid for a four and a six to give the innings some much-needed impetus. But just when it looked Raina and Kohli would go for the shots, Adil Rashid struck. The spinner had Raina stumped for 27 to once again put England on top,
Kohli and Dhoni then took the innings forward. But any chances of scoring quick runs looked slim as Dhoni was struggling to get going. India reached the 100-run mark in the 16th over before Kohli departed for 47. Dhoni found his touch towards the end and along with Hardik Pandya helped India finish on a challenging score.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the innings:
Missed a half century unfortunately, but since he's batted superbly and run brilliantly between the wickets, one can safely assume that @imVkohli's neck problem is a thing of the past
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 6, 2018
The problem with Dhoni and Pandya batting together is that neither of them is sure who should get more strike.
— The Lying Lama 2.0 (@KyaUkhaadLega) July 6, 2018
That's why Virat is irreplaceable in current Indian team coz whenever team is in trouble he is always there to score crucial runs for Indian team.. noone i repeat noone can replace him..#INDvsENG #ENGvsIND
— crick_foot_lover (@strawhatvibss) July 6, 2018
Dinesh karthik should be added instead of Test player Dhoni ! Why is he in the team #ENGvsIND
— . (@babatharkiii) July 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/imkalwar/status/1015295629864599554
@msdhoni is 45 minutes short of turning 37 and look how quick he's between the wickets!!
Just amazing.#INDvENG #ENGvIND #INDvsENG #ENGvsIND— Sukhinder Anand (@AnandSukhinder) July 6, 2018
Shikhar Dhawan just showed me my life #EngvInd pic.twitter.com/d9KRGxVGet
— TheStumpCam (@thestumpcam) July 6, 2018
Openers gone, both for their own mistakes. England have taken firm grip in powerplay. Testing time for Rahul, Kohli and others to follow
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 6, 2018
Indians fans to Rohit Sharma pic.twitter.com/CHZJJmhwFB
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) July 6, 2018
Dhawan in the first game and Rohit in the second. Gotta applaud the gesture of these two to get out early and make KL Rahul feel like he is opening the inn so he bats comfortably. #ENGvIND
— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) July 6, 2018