When you lose 3 wickets in the first 6 overs for 30 runs it's difficult to come back: Virat Kohli

England registered a nerve-wracking victory in the 2nd T20I against India to keep their hopes alive in the 3 match series. It was a stunning knock from Alex Hales which eventually ensured England reached the target of 149 in the final over. Earlier in the day it was an impressive performance by the English bowlers to restrict India to 148. The Indian bowlers fought hard but eventually fell short in the end.

It was English skipper Eoin Morgan who won the toss and opted to bowl. It was understandable given the fact that India had done quite brilliantly while chasing the other day. The visitors didn’t begin in the best of fashions as they lost Rohit Sharma quite early. Both the openers found it hard to get going. Rohit was eventually dismissed by Jake Ball. Dhawan headed back to the pavilion in quick time as India was reduced to 22/3.

More tragedy struck as the man in form KL Rahul was also dismissed by a good delivery from Liam Plunkett. Captain Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina resurrected the innings with a 57 runs stand. Raina looked in good touch but just when it looked the duo will put on a big partnership, Raina was dismissed by Adil Rashid.

Kohli and Dhoni batted sensibly and ensured India reached a total close to 150. Kohli was eventually dismissed on 47 of 38 deliveries which included a four and a couple of sixes. Dhoni and Hardik Pandya shared an unbeaten 38 runs stand for the 5^th wicket. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 32 of 24 deliveries. India eventually finished on 148 in their allotted 20 overs.

England began on an impressive fashion as Jason Roy and Jos Buttler struck some good shots. However, Umesh Yadav provided the much-needed breakthrough in the form of Roy’s wicket. The most important wicket of Jos Buttler was taken by Umesh as Virat Kohli held on to the catch. From there on the skipper, Eoin Morgan shared a useful partnership with Alex Hales to get England back on track. However, he failed to press on the accelerator and was dismissed on 17.

Morgan was dismissed by Hardik Pandya for just 17. However, the match-turning innings was played by Jonny Bairstow. He smashed two consecutive sixes of Kuldeep Yadav to bring the target down to a manageable margin. Bhuvneshwar Kumar again helped India claw their way back into the match with a stunning 17th over. He conceded just 7 runs.

However, England was back in the game with Alex Hales smashing some stunning shots. He smashed the 1st ball of the last over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar outside the stadium and then struck a four to win the match for the hosts. Hence the final match will be the decider at Bristol in two day’s time. India wll look to make a strong comeback. They are a very good team and I won’t be surprised to see them lift the trophy the next day.

Here is what losing skipper Virat Kohli said at the post-match presentation 

When you lose 3 wickets in the first 6 overs for 30 runs it’s difficult to come back. I thought a partnership would get us to 145, and that would have been competitive. England made good use of the wicket which had some extra bounce. We were pushed back initally in the first six. Our powerplay was not good enough, and the score in the end reflects that. You do consider everything into account, like the pitch, etc. We did well and we knew it would be difficult for England to chase down 149, and I think they had the partnership we didn’t to close it off in the end. They played Kuldeep worked really well