Shreyas Iyer has started his India T20I captaincy career on a poor note. In the first match under his leadership, India lost to Ireland by 34 runs. While it looked like a rare event, Ireland edged India by one run in the second game to register a historic 2-0 whitewash over the Iyer-led side. After this, India’s first T20I of the five-match series against England was washed out due to rain. Iyer’s quest for his first win as captain continued even after the second match, as the Three Lions beat India by four wickets on Saturday.
With the loss to England in the second T20I, Iyer scripted an unwanted record. He became the first India captain to fail to register a victory despite leading the side in three completed matches.
Talking about the second T20I, Ravi Bishnoi became the perfect party pooper on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s much-hyped debut, conceding 29 runs in an over as England romped home against India.
The 17th over, bowled by a profligate Bishnoi, saw him deliver two no-balls in the first two deliveries. Jacob Bethell (76 not out off 46 balls), keen to make amends for the T20 World Cup semi-final defeat, capitalised on the opportunity, smashing three towering sixes to ensure England completed the chase of 191 with an over to spare.
The afternoon began with anticipation over a 15-year-old Indian’s debut and ended with a 22-year-old talented Englishman’s swift counter-offensive that gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The chase could not have started on a worse note for the hosts, as Phil Salt and Jos Buttler were snapped up by Arshdeep Singh.
However, to India’s horror, skipper Harry Brook (39 off 15 balls) was brutal on the seasoned seamer, smashing him for 27 runs, including three sixes and two boundaries.
While Axar Patel (1/19 in 4 overs) had Brook caught down the leg side by Ishan Kishan, the England skipper had already laid the platform for the counter-offensive.
Bethell was then joined by Tom Banton (39 off 32 balls), and the duo handled the Indian spinners with relative ease during their 67-run stand for the fourth wicket.
It also helped that India’s spinners Ravi Bishnoi (0/60 in 4 overs) and Varun Chakravarthy (1/37 in 4 overs) did not match the English spinners, who were slower through the air and off the pitch. Only Axar Patel held his own.
(With PTI Inputs)