ENG vs IND 2026: England vs India, 2nd T20I - Who Said What?

England produced a clinical all-round performance to defeat India by four wickets in the second T20I at Old Trafford, Manchester, and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

After India captain Shreyas Iyer opted to bat first, the visitors posted 190/7 despite none of their batters reaching a half-century. Ishan Kishan top-scored with 49, while England's left-arm seamer Sam Curran starred with the ball, claiming 3/33.

England's chase got off to a poor start with both openers dismissed for ducks for the first time in a men's T20I innings. However, left-handed batter Jacob Bethell turned the game around with a superb unbeaten 76 off 46 balls, smashing five fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 165.22.

Batting at No. 4, Bethell shared a 50-run stand off just 23 balls with Harry Brook before adding another crucial 67 runs with Tom Banton, guiding England to the target with one over to spare. Arshdeep Singh was India's best bowler with figures of 3/40.

Talking Points:

Historic debut for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

At just 15 years and 99 days, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became India's youngest-ever international cricketer and the second-youngest player to debut for a Full Member nation. His inclusion marked a significant moment for Indian cricket, highlighting the team's willingness to invest in young talent on the international stage. Unfortunately, the youngster were able to score just 14 runs before being dismissed by Will Jacks.

Sam Curran tightens India's middle overs

Left-arm seamer Sam Curran laid the foundation for England's win with an excellent spell of 3/33. By removing key batters Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube, Curran prevented India from turning a solid total into a match-winning one, making him the standout bowler of the contest.

Jacob Bethell anchors England's chase

Jacob Bethell delivered a mature, match-winning innings of an unbeaten 76 off 46 balls, rescuing England after both openers fell for ducks. His partnerships with Harry Brook and Tom Banton ensured England chased down 191 with an over to spare, earning him the Player of the Match award.

Who said what?

Shreyas Iyer, India Captain

I think we all know where it went away but I don't want to pinpoint a particular player. I was like, okay he's going to come back strong after that (the first no ball). But the 17th over haunted us. But he'll learn. I think it was a phenomenal score on this pitch with variable bounce. First 15 overs we were on top of the game but suddenly - credit to the way Jacob played. They analysed the dimensions of the ground and the wicket early. He was bowling right outside off stump, and that was very well planned (Curran). He's got that unflinching attitude where he's fearless. The way he bats in the nets... something to learn out of him. I wasn't anticipating him to be nervous. Absolutely, I'm always in high spirits and I know that this is the lowest you can go.

Harry Brook, England captain

Extremely pleased, yeah. I thought the lads fielded around in the field were outstanding. And it's one of the things that we spoke about, trying to get off the rope and stop the twos. And there were some decent stats there. I think we had 11 twos and they had five. So we were pretty happy with that. We knew that we could chase that with the wind and the dimensions of the ground. The idea was to get off to a really good start in the power play. That didn't quite work in the first couple of overs. But we were happy with where we were after that powerplay. And then the way that Beth played there was phenomenal. He bowled beautifully in that little phase (Curran). Yeah, and again, it was just about using the dimensions and the wind as well as we could. And that little spell that we had with him and Jacksie, I can't remember what over it was, but I think they went for about 10 or 12 runs. And that was vital in the context of the game. I think you've got to try and maximize the powerplay as well as you can, really. And all our batters have so much strength and power, but innovation as well, and we can hit different parts of the ground. And I thought we used that really well. Yeah, he's awesome to have out there (Bethell). He rallies the troops really well when we're out in the field, and gives me a massive hand out there as well. And he's so mature for his age, and he's got a very long career ahead of him.

Jacob Bethell, Player of the Match

It worked out well in the end. Going into bat, two down, Brooky set the momentum really well. Shame when he got out but Bantz came in. Those kind of chases, you're not going rapid the whole time, but just a couple of big overs. If I'm honest I probably would've targetted the other side (not the one from which Bishnoi bowled) with the wind and the shorter side. But a couple of free hits, and the bowler is down. I really enjoyed that semifinal although we didn't get over the line. You want to do well against the best teams in the world.