India's T20 specialists Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah combined to give hosts a thrilling 5-run win against England in the second Twenty20 International in Nagpur on Sunday.
Chasing 145 for victory, England needed eight in the final over, but Bumrah took two wickets for two runs in an inspirational spell. Veteran Nehra took three wickets. The series decider will be played in Bangalore on February 1.
Brief scores:
India: 144/8 in 20 overs (K L Rahul 71, Manish Pandey 30; Chris Jordan 3/22)
England: 139/6 in 20 overs (Ben Stokes 38, Joe Root 38; Ashish Nehra 3/28, Jasprit Bumrah 2/20).
ENGLAND INNINGS; INDIA 144/8
Over 20 || Score 139/6 (Moeen Ali 1; Chris Jordan 0)
England need 8 from 6. And Jasprit Bumrah the bowler.
Ball 1: A wicket, LBW. Lucky for India. Thick edge. 8 from 5.
Ball 2: New Man Moeen Ali took strike. A single. 7 from 5.
Ball 3: A dot ball to Jos Buttler. 7 from 4.
Ball 4: Slower ball, bowled Jos Buttler. 7 from 2.
Ball 5: A bye, as Chris Jordan swing and miss. Dhoni missed the throw. 6 from 1.
Ball 6: A dot ball to Moeen Ali.
And India won by five runs. Huge win.
Two runs and two wickets from the last over as Jasprit Bumrah produced a magical over to give India series-levelling win in Nagpur.
Over 19 || Score 137/4 (Joe Root 38; Jos Buttler 15)
Ashish Nehra on for the penultimate over. A single to Jos Buttler to start the over. Joe Root lofted a skier, landing in no-man's land again. A double for the effort.
A single followed. Buttler found a four, pulled and lucky.
A double. Good running from England, and horror effort from KL Rahul. It's a single, and he converted it into a two, for England.
A six to end the over. Virat Kohli could have done better, he palmed the ball over for a six. 16 runs from the over.
Nehra's figures: 4-0-28-3.
Over 18 || Score 121/4 (Joe Root 35; Jos Buttler 2)
Jasprit Bumrah produced a brilliant over. Only three runs. He could have earned a wicket too, but Joe Root's skier landed in no man's land after an eternity in the air.
England need another 24 runs from 12 balls.
Over 17 || Score 118/4 (Joe Root 33; Jos Buttler 1)
The veteran has given Indian another chance. Trapped dangerous Ben Stokes in front.
WICKET: Ben Stokes lbw b Ahish Nehra 38 (27b)
That happened off the fifth ball of the over. Jos Buttler is the new man for England.
Five runs and a wicket from the over.
England need another 27 runs from 18 balls.
Over 16 || Score 113/3 (Joe Root 31; Ben Stokes 36)
Another good over for England. Nine runs from Jasprit Bumrah's second over.
England need another 32 runs from 24 balls. India need a miracle now.
Over 15 || Score 104/3 (Joe Root 31; Ben Stokes 27)
Ben Stokes on fire. He has raced to 27 off 18 balls.
Yuzvendra Chahal returned for his last over, and was taken for 11 runs. His figures 4-0-33-0.
The fifth ball of the over went for a flat six, sailing over long-on.
Over 14 || Score 93/3 (Joe Root 30; Ben Stokes 17)
13 runs from the over as Ben Stokes joined the fun in Nagpur. Mind you, he was let off early in the innings.
He creamed Suresh Raina for a four and six off successive balls, off the first and second deliveries respectively.
12 runs from the over. Raina ended his spell of four overs for figures of 4-0-30-0.
England need another 52 from 36 balls.
Over 13 || Score 80/3 (Joe Root 29; Ben Stokes 5)
Amit Mishra completed his spell of four overs, for figures of 4-0-25-1. Good effort.
Three runs from his last over.
Over 12 || Score 77/3 (Joe Root 28; Ben Stokes 3)
Suresh Raina continued with his third over. Eight runs from the over, which included three wides.
England need another 68 from 48 balls.
Over 11 || Score 69/3 (Joe Root 26; Ben Stokes 1)
Amit Mishra, what have you done? First ball, a big wicket, that off Eoin Morgan, caught at deep mid-wicket by Hardik Pandya. Then, third ball, an ever bigger wicket that of Ben Stokes. But he committed the cardinal sin. Overstepped.
WICKET: Eoin Morgan c Hardik Pandya b Amit Mishra 17 (23b)
An eventful over. Four runs and a wicket.
Over 10 || Score 65/2 (Eoin Morgan 17; Joe Root 24)
Suresh Raina continued his brilliant effort with the ball. Another tidy, five-run over from the part-timer.
Over 9 || Score 60/2 (Eoin Morgan 14; Joe Root 22)
Amit Mishra was not so lucky. He was hit for two successive fours by Joe Root off the second and third balls.
11 runs from the over. England need 85 runs.
Over 8 || Score 49/2 (Eoin Morgan 13; Joe Root 13)
Suresh Raina on for India. Good one from the part-time bowler, conceding only five singles, which included a leg-bye.
Over 7 || Score 44/2 (Eoin Morgan 11; Joe Root 11)
Amit Mishra on for India. Eight runs from the over, four singles and two doubles.
England need another 101 runs.
Over 6 || Score 36/2 (Eoin Morgan 9; Joe Root 5)
Bowling change for India. Jasprit Bumrah on. Seven runs from the over, which included a four, off the fourth ball, hit by Eoin Morgan through the point area.
Power-play done.
Over 5 || Score 29/2 (Eoin Morgan 3; Joe Root 4)
Yuzvendra Chahal returned strongly, giving away only five runs.
England need another 116 runs from 16 overs to win the series.
Over 4 || Score 24/2 (Eoin Morgan 1; Joe Root 1)
One huge over from Ahish Nehra to give India an outside chance in the match.
He removed Sam Billings off the first ball, caught at fine leg by Jasprit Bumrah.
WICKET: Sam Billings c Jasprit Bumrah b Ahish Nehra 12 (9b)
Then, off the next ball, Nehra removed Jason Roy, again caught at mid-on by Suresh Raina.
WICKET: Jason Roy c Suresh Raina b Ashich Nehra 10 (11b)
But he failed to achieve a hat-trick.
Two runs and two wickets from the over.
Eoin Morgan and Joe Root are the new man for England.
Over 3 || Score 22/0 (Jason Roy 10; Sam Billings 12)
Yuzvendra Chahal taken to the cleaners. Two sixes and 15 runs from the over.
Sam Billings hit the first ball for a six over long-on, then two balls later, Jason Roy creamed one over the same area.
Over 2 || Score 7/0 (Jason Roy 3; Sam Billings 4)
Old war-horse Ashish Nehra responded with a good over. Five runs from the over. Suresh Raina failed to collect the ball cleanly, and England took a single off the last ball. Half-chance.
England need another 138 runs from 18 overs.
Over 1 || Score 2/0 (Jason Roy 1; Sam Billings 1)
Brilliant start from Yuzvendra Chahal. The spinner gave away two singles.
INDIA INNINGS
Over 20 || Score 144/8 (Jasprit Bumrah 0)
Average score batting first in Nagpur is 149. And India just about managed to score 144, still five runs short of it.
A single to start the over, then a double followed. A wide, then run out of Hardik Pandya. He played straight, and the ball hit the stumps. Bowler uprooted a wicket with ball in hand.
WICKET: Hardik Pandya run out 2 (3b)
Two balls later new man Amit Mishra sacrificed his wicket while coming back for the second run.
WICKET: Amit Mishra run out 0 (0b)
Then, off the last ball, Jordan bowled MS Dhoni.
WICKET: MS Dhoni b Chris Jordan 5 (7b)
Jordan's figures: 4-0-22-3. It could have been five.
Five runs and three wickets. In the last five overs, India scored 36 runs losing five wickets.
Over 19 || Score 139/5 (MS Dhoni 3; Hardik Pandya 0)
Finally, Manish Pandey played a big shot and it went for the maximum, over long-on. It was followed by a double.
Then Tymal Mills, in the penultimate over, bowled Pandey.
WICKET: Manish Pandey b Tymal Mills 30 (26b)
That happened off the fifth ball. It was followed by a brilliant slower ball to Hardik Pandya.
10 runs and a wicket.
Over 18 || Score 129/4 (Manish Pandey 21; MS Dhoni 2)
Chris Jordan on for his third over. And he got the wicket of Lokesh Rahul.
The Indian opener midled his pull shot but picked out the lone fielder at deep mid-wicket.
WICKET: KL Rahul c Ben Stokes b Chris Jordan 71 (47b)
MS Dhoni arrived, and took a single off the first ball he faced.
Manish Pandey played a lofted cover drive, but found the fielder. Cut to two. He has faced 22 balls, and no boundary yet.
Five runs from the over. And also a wicket.
Over 17 || Score 124/3 (KL Rahul 71; Manish Pandey 18)
Ben Stokes on for his third over.
Three singles, then a double. Manish Pandey struggling big time timing the ball.
A single followed. Big swing but only managed an inside edge.
Then, after 19 balls, India found a four, thanks to a thick edge.
10 runs from the over.
Over 16 || Score 114/3 (KL Rahul 65; Manish Pandey 14)
Tymal Mills on for his third over. Slower ball after slower ball, and batsmen failed to pick one.
Six singles, six runs from the over.
Over 15 || Score 108/3 (KL Rahul 62; Manish Pandey 11)
Ben Stokes returned for his second over. One tidy over from the medium pacer.
Then something strange happened. The fifth ball hit the stumps, and the bails lit off, but it remain there.
Three runs from the over.
Over 14 || Score 105/3 (KL Rahul 62; Manish Pandey 9)
Adil Rashid on for his third over. 12 runs from the over as Lokesh Rahul hit two fours, off the first and fourth balls.
And there were four singles too.
Over 13 || Score 93/3 (KL Rahul 52; Manish Pandey 7)
Six runs from Moeen Ali's last over. His figures 4-0-20-1. He was the man of the match in Kanpur.
All singles. India scored 37 runs, losing one wicket, in the last five over.
And KL Rahul reached his first T20I fifty.
Over 12 || Score 87/3 (KL Rahul 49; Manish Pandey 4)
Liam Dawson returned for his second over, and he has been taken for some runs.
A single to Manish Pandey to start the over. Lokesh Rahul hit the next ball for a six, over long on. A double followed.
Then two singles. A full toss, and Rahul found the perfect gap in deep mid-wicket for a four. 15 runs from the over.
Over 11 || Score 72/3 (KL Rahul 36; Manish Pandey 2)
Huge over for England. Moeen Ali removed Yuvraj Singh, and leaked only five runs.
WICKET: Yuvraj Singh lbw b Moeen Ali 4 (12b)
Manish Pandey on for India.
Over 10 || Score 67/2 (KL Rahul 35; Yuvraj Singh 2)
Reached half-way mark in the innings, and a six came for India, thanks to Lokesh Rahul.
He dismissed the full toss, into the deep mid-wicket stands. It happened off the third ball.
10 runs from the over.
Over 9 || Score 57/2 (KL Rahul 27; Yuvraj Singh 1)
Another brilliant over for England. A single as Adil Rashid continued troubling Indian batsmen.
Yuvraj Singh was also lucky. A good LBW shout turned down. There's no review in Twenty20.
Over 8 || Score 56/2 (KL Rahul 26; Yuvraj Singh 1)
Suresh Raina also gone. Wicket to Adil Rashid, caught at long-on by Chris Jordan.
WICKET: Suresh Raina c Chris Jordan b Adil Rashid 7 (10b)
That happened off the fourth ball of the over. Yuvraj Singh is the new man for India. Two runs and a wicket.
Over 7 || Score 54/1 (KL Rahul 25; Suresh Raina 6)
Another bowling change for England. Moeen Ali on. And fifty come up for India in the seventh over.
Three singles, then a three with Lokesh Rahul playing a sweep. Bottom edge, but failed to reach the boundary.
A wide followed. Then a single. A dot to end the 8-run over.
Over 6 || Score 46/1 (KL Rahul 21; Suresh Raina 3)
Suresh Raina looked out of sorts, chasing widish deliveries and missing the ball. But his partner Lokesh Rahul found the groove.
Rahul hit the fourth ball through cover for a four. Brilliant timing.
Nine runs from the over.
Over 5 || Score 37/1 (KL Rahul 15; Suresh Raina 1)
Virat Kohli departed trying to play an adventorous shot. Caught at long-on, by Liam Dawson. Good bowling from Chris Jordan. He produced a slower, and widish delivery which forced Kohli to miss his control.
WICKET: Virat Kohli c Liam Dawson b Chris Jordan 21 (15b)
That happened off the first ball of the fifth over. Suresh Raina is the new man.
But the very next ball, Lokesh Rahul hit a four through cover. Seven runs and a wicket from the over.
Over 4 || Score 30/0 (Virat Kohli 21; KL Rahul 9)
Then arrived Real Kohli. The Indian skipper played that famous punch, for a six over long-off. It looked so easy. He followed it up with a pull shot, for a four through backward square leg.
Then, a couple after playing over the cover fielder. A single followed to rotate the strike. A double to end the over, making it a 15-run over. Good over for India, Tymal Mills the bowler.
Over 3 || Score 15/0 (Virat Kohli 8; KL Rahul 7)
Umpire Shamshuddin had a huge call, and it wasn't reviewed. Chris Jordan knew he had his man, but wasn't to be so. Virat Kohli lucky again. It was hitting leg stump, for sure.
Another good over for England. Jordan leaked five runs in his first over.
Over 2 || Score 10/0 (Virat Kohli 7; KL Rahul 3)
Virat Kohli survived. Back of length delivery and almost ended up offering a catch to Sam Billings at third man. But it, in turn, get a four. Beaten by the pace. That happened off the third ball of the over.
Good over from Tymal Mills. The left arm pacer leaked only five runs.
Over 1 || Score 5/0 (Virat Kohli 2; KL Rahul 3)
Liam Dawson with the first over, and five runs from it. Virat Kohli faced the first over, taking a single. Lokesh Rahul took a double off the second, then two dot balls followed. Two mores singles to end the over.
Team news: Amit Mishra in for Parvez Rasool. Ashish Nehra playing, but no debut for Rishabh Pant. England also has one change, with Liam replacing Liam Dawson.
India: Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashish Nehra
England: Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Tymal Mills
TOSS: England won the toss, and asked India to bat first.
England have won the toss and will field first. One change for #TeamIndia, Amit Mishra comes in for Rasool #INDvENG @Paytm pic.twitter.com/BCA7Ccml6V
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 29, 2017
SQUADS
India: Virat Kohli (capt.), K L Rahul, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Parvez Rasool, Ashish Nehra, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mandeep Singh, Rishab Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Amit Mishra.
England: Eoin Morgan (capt.), Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Tymal Mills, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Liam Dawson and David Willey.
This is a must win match for hosts India, after they were thrashed in the first match at Kanpur on Thursday.
There's talk of boundary rope being moved back in Nagpur, and with that the importance of spinners will come into play.
Even then, with both the teams relying heavily on their batting prowess, any target lower than 160 would be considered a below par.
So, like in the ODIs, the focus will on the batsmen. And for India, the onus will be on the skipper Virat Kohli himself.
Then, there is the recurring problem with openers failing to impress. If they are brave enough, giving Rishab Pant a chance would do no harm.
There seems to be no issue with England batting.
In the bowling front, veteran Ashish Nehra struggled while Hardik Pandya was under utilised in Kanpur. Replacing Nehra with a spinner, probably Amit Mishra would be an enticing enough option for Kohli.
England are likely to stick to the same XI, the winning XI.
Welcome to our live coverage of the second Twenty20 International match between India and England, being played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.