England Post 201/7 Against India in T20 Series Opener

We are back for the chase! The umpires are back out in the middle and so are the players of England. Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are all set to open the innings for India. Sam Curran is off the field to begin with, and Jordan Cox is on as a substitute fielder. Jofra Archer is redy to setam in with the new ball. Let's play...

Needing a record chase - India opted to bowl first but were under the pump a bit. They did well to pull things back after the Powerplay as the likes of Prince Yadav and later on Harshit Rana picked up wickets at crucial junctures. They were off the boil with their fielding and the bowling wasn't all that great but they did end with a couple of decent overs, wresting back some momentum. Righto, 202 is what India need to pick up their first win of the series and a lot will ride on the opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Stay tuned, as the exciting run chase is up next.

Cameos up top and at the end - It was Jos Buttler who set things ablaze at the top, mustering up 36 quick runs. After his dismissal, England looked to steady the ship, but once things settled down, Phil Salt roared back to form with a half-century. However, it was an unbeaten 41 off 24 balls from Sam Curran that really propelled the hosts over the 200-run mark.

England go past 200 - Another sublime display of hitting from the hosts and they have put on a solid total of 201 runs on the board. India had a few lapses in the field, and the slower ones didn't quite work out for them today, but it isn't a target that's out of their reach.

2

Overs19.6

Score201 - 7

Arshdeep Singh to Sam Curran, England finish with 201/7. Very full by Arshdeep, on off. Curran stays leg side of the ball and squeezes it away past extra cover. Shreyas Iyer tidies up after getting around from long off. A couple of runs to end the innings.

1W

Overs19.5

Score199 - 7

Arshdeep Singh to Sam Curran, OUT! JOFRA ARCHER IS RUN OUT! They had to go for the second to keep Sam Curran on strike. A bit of tail on this yorker from Arshdeep, on middle. Curran digs it out in front of long on and attempts the second run. Shreyas Iyer charges in off the ropes and throws it on the bounce at the bowling end. Arshdeep collects the ball and breaks the stumps to catch Archer short of his ground. England are 7 down for 199 with one legal ball left in the innings.

4

Overs19.2

Score197 - 6

Arshdeep Singh to Jofra Archer, FOUR! Not where Archer intended but they all count. This is pushed across the right-hander, on a length. Archer has an ungainly swipe across the line with all his might. The ball leaves him with the angle to take the outside edge and it flies over shorr third.

1W

Overs19.1

Score193 - 6

Arshdeep Singh to Will Jacks, OUT! WILL JACKS IS RUN OUT! Arshdeep attempts the yorker but it comes out as a low full toss, on middle and leg. Jacks swings at it and gets it away in front of square on the leg side. Will is a bit indecisive but eventually commits to the second run and that hesitation leads to his downfall. Axar Patel swoops in, picks the ball up with his left hand and fires in a throw at the batting end. Ishan Kishan collects it on the bounce before breaking the stumps. The third umpire is called into action. The replays find Jacks to be short despite his attempt to stretch out and slide his bat in.

2

Overs18.5

Score192 - 5

Prince Yadav to Sam Curran, Nails the yorker, on middle. Curran gets his bat down and squeezes it out wide of mid-wicket. Before Shreyas Iyer can get in from the deep Curran comes back for the second run.

2

Overs18.3

Score188 - 5

Prince Yadav to Sam Curran, DROPPED! Harshit Rana shells it. Prince takes pace off and bowls it on a good length, on middle and leg. Curran clears the front leg and has a swipe across the line. It is skied towards deep mid-wicket, where Rana runs to his right and is on the move when the ball hits his palm and as a result, he can't cling on. Two runs taken.

2

Overs17.6

Harshit Rana to Sam Curran, Very full at pace, outside off. Curran gets his hands through the line of the ball and drills it between cover and long off for a couple of runs more. 15 runs off Rana's final over. Ends with figures of 4-0-40-2.

4

Overs17.1

Harshit Rana to Sam Curran, FOUR! Gets it away. Rana steams in from around the wicket for the hat-trick ball and goes searching for the yorker. Ends up bowling a low full toss on off. Curran opens the bat face and steers it past short third for a four.

6

Overs16.6

Axar Patel to Will Jacks, SIX! Banged away! Speared in, fuller and on middle. Jacks gets it right in the slot and he does not miss out. He gets down on a knee and nails the slog sweep over mid-wicket. 18 runs off the over.

0

Overs16.5

Axar Patel to Will Jacks, This is fired on a length, around the tramline. Jacks lets it go, thinking it is a wide but does not get the signal he was looking for. The umpire gestures that Jacks had moved towards the off side.

6

Overs16.4

Axar Patel to Will Jacks, SIX! Dispatched with disdain. For the second time in the over, Axar drags it down, on middle. Jacks rocks onto the back foot in a flash and pulls it in front of square for half a dozen.

0

Overs16.3

Axar Patel to Will Jacks, Sliding on with the arm, on off and middle. Jacks looks to nudge it away on the leg side but ekes out an inside edge onto the pads and the ball goes nowhere.

Overs2.4

Score29 - 2

Jofra Archer to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Jofra Archer gets one over his IPL teammate. Archer digs it in short, around the right shoulder. Sooryavanshi tries to get inside the line and use the pace to pull it over long leg. The ball grazes a bit of the glove on the way through and Jos Buttler gobbles it up with a small jump to his right.

4

Overs2.2

Score28 - 1

Jofra Archer to Ishan Kishan, FOUR! Kishan flashes and flashes hard. This is at 147 kph, on the shorter side, outside off. Kishan throws the kitchen sink at it and it flies off a thickish outside edge over the man at short third.

W

Overs1.5

Score23 - 1

Josh Tongue to Abhishek Sharma, OUT! CAUGHT! Josh Tongue gets his radar right and strikes. Cross-seam ball, bowled into the surface, outside off. Abhishek hangs back and swings to go big on the off side. There is a bit of lift off the deck and Sharma ends up slicing it down to deep backward point, where Phil Salt runs in and takes an easy catch. India are 23/1, chasing 202.

6

Overs1.1

Score15 - 0

Josh Tongue to Abhishek Sharma, SIX! Dumped into the stands. Tongue gets it all wrong as he serves a full toss, outside off at waist height. Abhishek stands tall and carves it over backward point for his first six.

0

Overs0.2

Score2 - 0

Jofra Archer to Abhishek Sharma, A big swing and a miss! The length is pulled back a bit and it is angled across the left-hander. Abhishek charges down the track and stays leg side. He flays at it but fails to connect.

2

Overs0.1

Score2 - 0

Jofra Archer to Abhishek Sharma, Abhishek and India are away! Archer begins with a full ball, a bit of inward shape, on the pads. Sharma picks it up aerially over wide mid on but the ball does not have enough legs to reach the fence. Liam Dawson goes after it and hauls it in with a side. A couple of runs to start with for Abhishek.