India vs England, second T20i: Tilak Varma’s superb 72no helps hosts complete thrilling chase to win by two wickets | Cricket news

Tilak Varma’s superb unbeaten 72 led India to a thrilling two-wicket victory over England as they chased down 166 to win the second T20 International in Chennai.

England posted 165-9 after batting and looked set for victory as they reduced India to 78-5 and then 126-7, but Tilak’s brilliant 55-ball knock saw the hosts home with four balls to spare to book to Give them a 2-0 lead in the five-game series.

Tilak’s only significant support came from Washington Sundar (26), as superb bowling from Brydon Carse (3-29) and Adil Rashid (1-14) undid Jofra Archer (1-60) who proved extremely costly.

England had earlier set up a competitive total after captain Jos Buttler (45) hit his second successive century and Carse’s cameo of 31 off 17 balls ensured the tourists improved on their lackluster effort in the series opener.

But Tilak continued his stunning form as he improbably completed a fourth consecutive T20 international innings without a dismissal, following his unbeaten 19 against South Africa in November last year and an unbeaten 19 against England on Wednesday.

India will have a chance to secure a series win when the sides meet again for the third match of the series in Rajkot on Tuesday.

Buttler scores again above

There was a sense of Deja Vu as England, having lost the toss and been bowled in for the second consecutive game, lost both openers early.

Phil Salt hit a boundary off the first ball of the innings but failed to survive the opening, as he was caught on the boundary by Washington Sundar, trying to hook a very short delivery from Arshdeep Singh.

Buttler, still looking to be in the fine form he showed in the series opener, responded by hitting three boundaries from the third, including a six back down the ground, but the momentum was halted as Ben Duckett was dismissed off the first ball of the Next, while his reverse the shift deflected off the pads into the air to give Washington an instant wicket.

England remained aggressive but wickets continued to fall and Harry Brook could only smile at the genius of his opponent as Varun Chakravarthy bowled him through the wicket.

India got the winch they craved the most as Buttler hit one big shot too hard and sent Axar’s delivery straight into the hands of Tilak for a boundary.

The pattern continued as Liam Livingstone fell in similar fashion in the next over to Axar Patel, leaving England 90-5. Jamie Smith, making his T20 international debut in place of the awkward Jacob Bethell, made good use of his legs in a fluid knock of 22, before being caught at long-on boundary off Abhishek Sharma.

Carse then produced what would prove to be a crucial cameo, hitting three sixes to set England on course for a competitive total.

England’s sudden burst of momentum was once again eradicated two shots in two balls, as Overton fooled Varun Googly, before Carse was run out untouched after a mix-up with Archer.

Left on 137-8 with 23 balls to spare, England played sensibly to see out the innings, with Archer (12no), Rashid (10) and Mark Wood (5No) guiding them to a hopeful score.

Tilak snatches victory away from England

India started their chase as Abhishek Sharma hit Archer for three boundaries in the opening six balls, but he was then LBW to Wood in the second.

England’s comeback continued in the third as Archer beat Sanja Samson for pace with a short delivery, setting up a simple catch for Carse at leg to bring Tilak to the crease.

He shared a stand of 39 with India captain Suryakumar Yadav, but Carse’s superb play continued as he forced the skipper to play on his own stumps.

Carse soon claimed another wicket as he caught Dhruv Juvel, before Overton removed Hardik Pandya with his first ball to leave India 78-5 in the 10th over.

The height of India’s opening attack came as they made 18 runs as Wood was bowled at number 13 and Rashid spurned a simple chance to dismiss Washington before hitting three consecutive boundaries.

England looked to have recovered as Carse bowled Washington in the next over, before Liam Livingstone caught Axar on the boundary to leave India on 126-7 at the end of the 15th over.

Tilak responded by hitting Archer for back-to-back sixes as India scored 19 from the over to get back into the mix, but Arshdeep inexplicably gave his wicket to Rashid in the next over to leave the game in the balance with India needing 20 from 18 balls at 146 -8.

Tilak scored three runs off the first four balls of the penultimate ball but new partner Ravi Bishnoi hit a crucial boundary to put India on the brink.

With six needed from the final over, Tilak duly completed the job, driving through the headlines to leave England wondering how victory had slipped away.

What they said

India Captain Suryakumar Yadav:

“Obviously it’s a bit of a relief. It was good that the game went down to the wire.

“The plan was just to play like we did in the last game. It’s good to see us play an aggressive brand of cricket, but as the situation demanded, the boys put their hands up and bowled us out.

“I’m very happy with the way Tilak batted. It’s good to see someone like him take that responsibility.”

England captain Jos Buttler:

“It was a great game. It was really exciting there at the end and all credit to Tilak getting them over the line.

“I thought we were really aggressive, we pushed them, we were really close. The aggression was there that we were looking for.

“I was really pleased with the style we played in. We almost had a defensive score.

“A lot of positive results. I’m really happy with the performance.”

England in India – Results and Knots

All times Great Britain and Ireland

• First T20: Wednesday 22 January – Eden Gardens, Kolkata – India took seven wickets
• Second T20: Saturday 25th January – Ma Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – India took two wickets
• Third T20: Tuesday, January 28 (1:30 p.m.) – Niranan Shah Stadium, Rajkot
• Fourth T20: Friday January 31 (1.30pm) – Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
• Fifth T20: Sunday February 2 (1.30pm) – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

• First ODI: Thursday February 6 (8:00 AM) – Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
• Other ODIs: Sunday February 9 (8:00 AM) – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
• Third ODI: Wednesday February 12 (8:00 AM) – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

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