Tilak Varma’s exhilarating 72* powers India over the line in a thrilling run chase in the second T20I vs England

by Datrim Ray
India win

A cracking contest ensued at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday between India and England. Suryakumar Yadav & Co. prevailed in a tense run chase to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. England succumbed to spin yet again losing six wickets but huffed and puffed their way to a respectable 165 at the expense of nine wickets.

India, on the other hand, went all guns blazing but England kept pegging their momentum back by picking up timely wickets. Pace did the trick for England initially but runs kept flowing thick and fast for India as the ball kept flying out of the ground. At last, it all came down to the final over of the match and it was Tilak Varma who hit the winning runs and stayed unbeaten on 72 to steer India to a narrow two-wicket win with four balls to spare.

The toss was won by India and they asked England to have a bat first. The visitors were jolted early as they lost their opener Phil Salt to Arshdeep Singh inside the very first over of the innings. However, Buttler continued to press forward and played some attacking shots early on to exert the pressure back on India. But the promising second wicket stand between Buttler and Ben Duckett came to an abrupt end during the fourth over. Duckett was dismissed in a very bizarre fashion as he attempted to reverse-scoop Sundar in the very first ball of his spell and the top edge resulted in a very simple catch for Jurel inside the inner ring.

Nevertheless, the powerplay belonged to England as they finished with 58 inside the first six overs with only two wickets down. But the introduction of spin right after the powerplay once again tipped the scales in favor of the home side. Varun Chakravarthy bowled an absolute peach to sneak through the defences of Harry Brook and castle him for 13 (8). Buttler carried on and scored with positive intensity but ran out of luck while trying to slog Axar Patel (45 off 30) over mid-wicket and eventually holing out to Tilak Varma near the boundary ropes.

Spin continued to work in favor of India as Axar Patel made further inroads removing Liam Livingstone on 13 leaving England half the side down with 90 on the board at the start of the 12th over. However, the visitors were ahead in their scoring rate and the debutant Jamie Smith put his foot on the accelerator further to keep the engine running during the middle overs. His blistering 22 (12) helped England rise from a slump but Abhishek Sharma had the better of him and had him caught at long off inside the 13th over.

When the chips were down, Jamie Overton and Brydon Carse stitched a valuable 32-run stand for the seventh wicket to help England muster some quick runs towards the end. Overton perished for five but Carse carried on and compiled a well-made 31 (17) which featured one four and three sixes. After his dismissal in the 17th over, Rashid and Archer batted out the remaining balls and notched up scores of 10 & 12* respectively to drag England to 165.

Tilak Varma’s measured 72* (55) snatches victory from England in an intense thriller

Tilak Varma’s exhilarating 72* powers India over the line in a thrilling run chase in the second T20I vs England 

Tilak Varma slammed an unbeaten 72 off 55 featuring 4 fours & 5 sixes

The Indian run chase began with a flurry of boundaries As Abhishek struck Jofra Archer for three boundaries inside the first over. English bowlers bowled at full throttle but were also taken to the cleaners due to the brisk pace they offered to the in-form Indian batters. But it did not take too long for England to strike with the ball. Mark Wood ran in and drew the first blood by trapping Abhishek leg before wicket for 12 inside the second over.

Samson was the next batter to follow and was removed by Archer the very next over leaving India reeling at 19-2 mid-way through the third over. Archer was pounded big time during the powerplay as Suryakumar and Tilak Varma went hard at him launching him for fours and sixes on all sides of the wicket. Just when it seemed like India were cruising along nicely, Brydon Carse inflicted a massive blow during the last over of the powerplay which saw the demise of the Indian skipper for 12 thus plunging the Chepauk crowd into stunned silence.

More trouble followed for India as Carse once again got into the thick of things during a key moment in the run chase. Jurel was dismissed while trying to go for the pull over mid-wicket but ended up miscuing it straight down the throat of Rehan Ahmed inside the 30-yard circle. Jamie Overton dented India further by the halfway stage as he removed Hardik Pandya cheaply for 7 leaving the home side five down with only 78 on the board.

From that point onwards, England did manage to put the brakes on the scoring rate momentarily. But that did not deter Tilak Varma one bit. Both Tilak and Washington Sundar rode their luck and revived India’s fortunes in the run chase by forming a fighting 38-run stand for the sixth wicket. Sundar went hard at Wood inside the 13th over and hit him for a six and a couple of boundaries. But just when he was beginning to get into his work, Carse cleaned him up with an absolute beauty and his departure once again silenced the Chepauk crowd.

Further on, Axar and Arshdeep gifted their wickets away by playing rash shots which as per leading experts were simply uncalled for at the time. After 17 overs, India were reduced to 146-8 and England were right back in the game smelling victory. But Jofra Archer’s disastrous last over which saw him concede a whopping 19 runs tilted the game back in favor of India. Tilak Varma saved his best for the last and unleashed his fury when India needed it the most.

He joined hands with Ravi Bishnoi towards the fag end of the run chase, the latter smashing two valuable boundaries, and stayed unbeaten on 72* to take India over the finishing line. Tilak sealed it off with a searing cover-driven four against Overton with four balls to go.

India are in the ascendency now and lead the series 2-0. The next T20I is slated to be played in Rajkot on January 28 and England will be facing the heat as they look to make a comeback into the series.

BRIEF SCORES: England 165/9 (Jos Buttler 45, Brydon Carse 31, Jamie Smith 22, Axar Patel 2/32, Hardik Pandya 1/6, Washington Sundar 1/9) lost to India 166/8 (Tilak Varma 72*, Washington Sundar 26, Abhishek Sharma 12, Brydon Carse 3/29, Adil Rashid 1/14, Liam Livingstone 1/14) by two wickets. 

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