England vs India, 2nd T20I, Review: Alex Hales' brilliance helps England clinch the thriller

The man who was severely criticised for his slow knock in the last game, Alex Hales, was the match-winner for England in Cardiff. His brilliant 58-run unbeaten knock helped the hosts level the series which looked impossible at the halfway stage of the chase. But the way they approached the wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav caught India off guard in the final stages of the match. In the end, it went right down the wire and England had Hales who won it for them against his IPL teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The Men in Blue were invited to bat first by the hosts as they dropped Moeen Ali after the pasting he received at the hands of KL Rahul at the Old Trafford. India, however, fielded an unchanged side in order to seal the series with one game to go.

England own the powerplay

England opened the bowling with David Willey as he frustrated Rohit Sharma by bowling four dot balls. The over set the tone for the hosts. Jake Ball scalped the right-hander in his first over itself and soon Shikhar Dhawan followed suit with an unlucky run-out. He mistimed the pull and tried to steal a quick run even as Jason Roy charged in from the backward point but Eoin Morgan fumbled while disturbing the stumps.

Meanwhile, Dhawan had reached comfortably in the crease but was in a strife while grounding his bat as it got stuck in the ground which led to his bat being in the air and had to return to the dug-out. The pressure got to Rahul as well and he was castled by Liam Plunkett in the same over to leave India reeling at 22/3.

Then came the rebuilding phase led by the skipper Virat Kohli and was well supported by Suresh Raina. Both of them manoeuvred the ball and ran well on a big ground. The ball was also not coming on the bat easily which made the run-scoring extremely difficult for the visitors. The duo added 57 runs together which brought back the innings on track somewhat. But just when Raina was opening up, he missed a tossed up delivery from Adil Rashid and was stumped in the process for a well-made 27.

Dhoni finishes strongly

On the other hand, Kohli had also got into his groove after a slow start but England had sorted out their plans perfectly. They hit the deck hard and into the body of the batsmen which kept the Indian batsmen on the tenterhooks. But the skipper managed to find some crucial hits to the boundary as he targeted the lone spinner in the opposition ranks. Dhoni, as usual, took his time up front and he struggled to time the ball early on in his innings.

But once the game entered into his territory, he continued to out-think the bowler and stepped out to the short deliveries also. The best shot of his knock was the swat back to the bowler off the short delivery which raced away to four in the last over. While Hardik Pandya also connected one, it was Dhoni who managed to end the proceedings strongly for Team India.

India scored 22 runs off the last over and ended the innings on 148 runs for the loss of 5 wickets which was a decent total given the way the pitch played throughout the 20 overs. Plunkett and Willey were the best bowlers for England as they conceded only 17 and 18 runs respectively in their four-over spells and kept a lid on the run-scoring.

India begin their defence well

It was all about how well the hosts will play against the wrist-spinners on a sluggish pitch and it was visible in their approach. They tried to go hard at the fast bowlers and started well as Jason Roy churned out 14 runs in the first over of Umesh Yadav. But then the visitors went back to what always works for them and started bowling the length balls. The change in line reaped immediate rewards as Yadav castled the middle-stump of Roy.

Jos Buttler was dropped by Kohli as everyone felt if he had dropped the match. But he offered a similar chance once again and there was no stopping the captain this time as he pounced a tough catch and went on a celebratory spree. The mystery of the left-spin was then introduced quickly and almost immediately Yuzvendra Chahal nipped out Joe Root with a googly.

Hales and Morgan rebuild

Alex Hales and Morgan then got together and played out the wrist-spin carefully. They failed to pick a few deliveries at times but there was intent this time around. Morgan played a delightful stroke down the ground by coming down the track to Kuldeep which opened the floodgates for England. Hales took care of Chahal and earned 13 runs in his over as they suddenly churned out 26 runs off the two overs.

The partnership of 48 runs had started to threaten significantly but the brilliance of Dhawan in the 14th over sent back the opposition captain. It was a short delivery from Hardik and Morgan pulled it ferociously which could’ve gone for a six on any ground but not in Cardiff. Dhawan judged the ball and timed his jump perfectly to pull off a sensational grab to bring Jonny Bairstow in the middle.

Thrilling finish

Hales was adamant about making up for his poor last outing and Bairstow got into the action quickly as the equation came down to 39 runs off last 4 overs. The 17th over proved to be game-changing as Bairstow turned the hero of the last match into villian for the Indian fans. He smashed him for two back-to-back sixes almost killing the contest as the over yielded 16 runs.

But the game had another twist in it thanks to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He bowled a bouncer which Bairstow pulled and went straight into the hands of Kuldeep. Bhuvi gave away only three runs in the exceptional over which again balanced the odds. With 21 to defend, Umesh was handed over the ball by his captain.

He landed his yorkers perfectly under immense pressure even as Hales’ brilliance eked out a boundary. But only 9 runs were scored in the over to leave Bhuveshwar Kumar 12 run in the last over. But the veteran in the death overs missed his line off the very first ball and the ever so aware Hales launched it into the stands to kill the game. The next ball was a four as well and Willey finished the game in style with two balls to spare.

The topsy-turvy game had finally come to an end with England managing to overcome the tremors of the first game successfully. They played Kuldeep well and the result went in their favour. The series now deservedly go into the decider as there will be a quick turn around for both the teams on Sunday.

Brief Scores

India 148/5 after 20 overs (V Kohli 47, MS Dhoni 32*; L Plunkett 1/17, D Willey 1/18)

England 149/5 after 19.4 overs (A Hales 58*, J Bairstow 28; U Yadav 2/36)

Result: England won by 5 wickets

Man of the Match: Alex Hales

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