The shortest format of the game is known for high-scoring matches, but there have been instances when average or low score contest has gone down to the wire, producing some close results. The same was witnessed during India vs England 2nd T20 in Nagpur, which produced some thrilling moments, and the home team held their nerve to win the match in the final over. One needs to applaud Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah, as they bowled brilliantly for India in the death overs to script a stunning win to level the series at 1-1.
After India, with good contribution from KL Rahul (71 runs), scored 144 runs from their alloted 20 overs, the home team had to bowl well against the strong English batsmen. The visitors were in the driver's seat for major share of the game, but relentless pressure from Nehra and Bumrah in the final few overs of the second innings did the job for India, restricting England for 139 runs.
With this win, the third T20 between India and England in Bengaluru is going to decide the T20 series' fate.
INDIA WIN BY 5 RUNS
10:31: Jordan cannot connect Bumrah's slower ball, and the pair takes a bye. England need six runs from one ball. Moeen Ali on strike. Bumrah bowls a wide full toss and Ali fails to make any contact. INDIA SCRIPT AN IMPRESSIVE WIN.
10:28: Moeen Ali bottom edges the ball for a single. Buttler on strike, and it is dot ball from Bumrah. Buttler goes for a big shot, misses it completely. This is stunning from Bumrah, who bowls straight and Buttler's wickets are disturbed. WICKET - England 138/6
10:25: Bumrah dismisses Root - LBW. England 137/5
10:23: Nehra on the money, yorker on middle stump. Just one run. Root again skies the ball, but it lands safe on no man's land. Root hits it powerfully straight to Nehra, who fails to field it clean, Root takes a single. Buttler finds the gap in front of mid-wicket for a boundary. Another yorker from Nehra and the pair completes a quick couple. Buttler brings England closer to the target with a six as Kohli gets his hand, but it was impossible for him to hold onto that catch. England, 137/4, 19 overs (Root 38, Buttler 15), need 8 runs from 6 balls
10:18: Bumrah starts the over with a dot ball, and he follows it with another. Two dot balls on a trot. Buttler under pressure? The wicket-keeper gives the strike to Root now. This is brilliant from Bumrah, who has just conceded one run in four balls. Great bowling from Bumrah as Root misses a reverse shot. Root top edges the ball, but it falls safe, and the pair takes two runs. England, 121/4, 18 overs (Root 35, Buttler 2), need 24 runs from 12 balls
10:13: Buttler takes a single, opens his account. England, 118/4, 17 overs (Root 33, Buttler 1), need 27 runs from 18 balls
10:11: Nehra has been brilliant today, what can he do now? Four runs from four balls, but this will not hurt England at all with Stokes and Root having got their eye in. India have no option, but to take wickets, and Nehra delivers a slower ball to trap Stokes for LBW. WICKET. England, 117/4
10:06: Can Bumrah make any difference with the ball? Stokes, in dangerous form, is on strike to the pacer, and he is taken for a couple. Stokes has been brilliant, and he takes the ball on the full for a boundary. Stokes has been the difference so far in the innings. England, 113/3, 16 overs (Root 31, Stokes 36), need 32 runs from 24 balls
10:01: Chahal with his last over. India need wickets else it is going to be England's match. Stokes with a single, straight pull, and Root also takes a single. Chahal is trying to bowl wide, outside the off-stump. Chahal is not able to grip the ball well. He is having trouble in doing that. Stokes takes England past 100 with a powerful six. England, 104/3, 15 overs (Root 31, Stokes 27), need 41 runs from 30 balls
9:56: Raina, also, with his last over. Power, absolute forehand power from Stokes for a straight boundary, and he hits a six in the next ball. One step to the pitch of the ball and it sails for a big six. England, 92/3, 14 overs (Root 30, Stokes 17), need 52 runs from 36 balls
9:52: Mishra with his final over. Can he take one more wicket? Two runs from the first two balls. India have to break this partnership. Mishra is bowling well to Stokes, who is taken for another single. England, 80/3, 13 overs (Root 29, Stokes 5), need 65 runs from 42 balls
9:48: Poor from Raina, who bowls two straight wide balls down the leg-side. Even Dhoni misses it, goes for byes as well. Raina bowls full, and traps Root LBW, huge appeal, but given not out. Raina drags it short, taken for one run. England, 76/3, 12 overs (Root 28, Stokes3), need 68 runs from 48 balls
9:43: Another wicket goes down. That was some brilliant bowling from Mishra as he had cleaned up Stokes with a classic delivery. WAIT, it is no-ball and he is NOT OUT. It is free-hit, one run. How can spinners over step? Mishra is asking questions to Stokes. England, 69/3, 11 overs (Root 26, Stokes1), need 76 runs from 54 balls
9:39: After the break, Mishra dismisses Morgan, who needlessly plays an aerial shot and is held in the deep. WICKET. England 65/3
9:36: Root and Morgan look comfortbale at the crease. Without taking much risk, they have taken three singles in the over, and Root brings his reverse sweep for another single. Finally, a dot ball, and there is loud cheer from the crowd. Five singles from the over. England, 65/2, 10 overs (Root 24, Morgan 17), need 80 runs from 60 balls
9:33: Mishra is mixing it well, but India need wickets. That was off-break from leg-spinner, who is swept next for a four by Root. Another four as Root inside edges the ball behind the wicket. The ball is keeping low, but Root and Morgan are playing well. 11 runs from the over. England, 60/2, 9 overs (Root 22, Morgan 14)
9:28: Raina is brought on to bowl by Kohli. He concedes a leg-bye for one run. Meanwhile it seems that one of the bails' light is not working. Dhoni wants it to be changed. Root comes down the track, and Raina is bowling it cleverly. England, 49/2, 8 overs (Root 13, Morgan 13)
9:22: Experienced bowler Mishra to Root, who takes the leggie for a single. He has a knack of taking wickets.Morgan glances the ball for a single. Root goes deep in his crease and flicks for a single. The two players are just milking him for singles. Third umpire into action for run out call, but there is green light. England, 44/2, 7 overs (Root 11, Morgan 11)
9:16: Bumrah to Root, and the bowler starts with a dot. Low bounce, somehow Root gets some bat onto the ball, but that was the bottom part of the willow. India are piling some pressure with dot balls. As I say that, Morgan splits the gap in the off-side for a four. Morgan follows that with a couple on the leg-side. England, 36/2, 6 overs (Root 5 , Morgan 9)
9:12: Chahal is still bowling despite that last over of his, where he was hit for two sixes. Root drives him for a single. There is some turn for Chahal, and Morgan inside edges it for one run. Root is playing Chahal with some ease. England, 28/2, 5 overs (Root 4 , Morgan 3)
9:08: Can Nehra take a hat-trick? Eoin Morgan on strike, and the skipper lets the ball go by. This over from Nehra has been brilliant. Morgan gets off the mark with a single in the leg-side. India have to break this partnership soon as they are two classy players, who will not take much risk. They will play the ball on its merit. England, 24/2, 4 overs (Root 1 , Morgan 1)
9:04: Nehra on hat-trick as Roy is gone. The ball holds up or is it the bounce, but an easy catch to Raina. England 22/2
9:03: WICKET: Nehra dismisses Billings with a short ball. He top edges the ball in the long leg boundary. England 22/1
9:02: Billings comes down the track and the ball sails into the crowd for a huge six. Chahal under pressure. Roy silences the home crowd as he slog sweeps the ball for another six in the over. Chahal is giving the ball some air.Will he do so again? He concedes two runs in the last two balls. England, 22/0, 3 overs ( Roy 10, Billings 12)
8:57: Ashish Nehra from the other end. Will the England openers take on the experienced Nehra? Billings starts with a single. Nehra is not giving chance for English batsmen to open their arms up. Good bowling so far. He is bowling it short, nothing pitched up so far in the first five balls, and finishes with a slower ball. England, 7/0, 2 overs ( Roy 3, Billings 4)
8:50: Yuzvendra Chahal with the first over. This does not come as a surprise. There is a need to take early wickets. Roy gets off the mark, and Billings is on strike. The leggie is giving the ball some air. Roy goes for a reverse sweep, fails to connect well, hits it straight to the fielder. England, 2/0, 1 over ( Roy 1, Billings 1)
8:48: Welcome back. The second innings is set to start.
8:40: This is an interesting score. India bowlers have to take early wickets, as there is something for the bowlers and the spinners have a huge role to play in the second innings.
Take a break, you guys. Will be back soon for England's innings.
England require 145 runs to win the second ODI.
8:36: Last ball of the over. What can Dhoni come up with? Dhoni inside edges the ball onto the wicket. Dhoni loses his wicket in the last ball of the first innings. Great final over for England as they take three India wickets. India 144/8
8:35: Dhoni comes down the track, no run. Dhoni sacrifices a wicket as they go for a couple. Dhoni wanted to keep strike. He has done that. India144/7
8:32: Dhoni tries to go big, only one run. Dhoni and Pandya take a couple, good running in the second ball. They need sixes now. Pandya lets the ball go down the leg-side. It is wide. Pandya is run out by Jordan next. WICKET- PANDYA
8:29: Pandya plays a dot ball. India 139/5, 19 overs (Dhoni 3, Pandya 0)
8:28: Pandey on strike to Mills. It is time for big blow from Pandey and Dhoni. One run from the first ball, and Dhoni is on strike. He pulls the ball on the leg side for another single. Finally, Pandey gets his timing right, first six from the right-hander. Overthrow from Stokes and they take two runs. Pandey back on strike and is clean bowled by Mills with a slower ball. India 139/5
8:24: Dhoni on strike and he gets off the mark with a single. Dhoni is the man for India as he can finish the innings on a high for the home team. India 129/4, 18 overs (Pandey 21, Dhoni 2)
8:20: Pandey takes a single, though he is looking for a big shot. His timing has been quite poor this innings. Rahul strikes it clean, right out of the middle of the willow, but hits it straight to the fielder in the deep. Rahul is gone for a well made 71 runs. India 125/4
8:18: Rahul comes down the track to Stokes. He takes a single after failing to get the middle of the bat, another single by Pandey. Enough of singles, as they need to score quick runs now. One and twos. That is all what Rahul and Pandey have been doing in the last few balls. Finally, Rahul ends the over with a four. That was thick edge from Rahul's bat. India 124/3, 17 overs (Rahul 71, Pandey 18)
8:13: Mills starts off the 16th over nicely. Two singles from the first two balls. Can he continue that in the next four balls? Pandey goes for a wild heave. He is out of shape while playing the ball, just a single. Pandey and Rahul are looking to score some quick runs, especially the opener, who has got his eye in. Rahul bottom edges the ball while going for a huge shot. Six runs from the over. Good bowling by the left-arm pacer. India 114/3, 16 overs (Rahul 65, Pandey 14)
8:09: Stokes into action, and he starts with a dot to Pandey. The right-hander slaps the ball to the sweeper cover for a single. This, as it looks, is not an easy pitch to bat on. two runs from four balls so far. Pandey is lucky as the ball strikes the wicket with a full ball, but the bail does not dislodge. India 108/3, 15 overs (Rahul 62, Pandey 11)
8:05: Rahul is looking great with the willow. He dances down the wicket to hit a four over the top of cover fielder. 100 up for India in the 14th over as Rahul fine sweeps the ball for a four, and two singles from the next two balls. Good batting from the pair. India 105/3, 14 overs (Rahul 62, Pandey 9)
8:01: Rahul completes his half-century with a single. His work is only half done, Rahul needs to carry his bat through. Pandey is playing sensible cricket, tucking the spinners for singles, and finding the gaps with ease. Six singles from the over. India 93/3, 13 overs (Rahul 52, Pandey 7)
7:57: Dawson to Rahul, who comes down the track and that is maximum from the opener, who is looking good. This is his second six, and follows that with a couple. Pandey just needs to stay at the crease and support him. Pandey takes a single with a flick. Rahul places the ball the cow corner for a four. India 87/3, 12 overs (Rahul 49, Pandey 4)
7:53: Manish Pandey comes in. Five runs from Ali's over and a wicket. That is brilliant from Ali, who has been stunning in the series. India 72/3, 11overs (Rahul 36, Pandey 2)
7:51: Ali to Yuvraj, who drives the off-spinner for a couple. Yuvraj goes for a sweep shot and the ball hits the pad, and Ali appeals for LBW. The umpire raises the index finger. YUVRAJ IS GONE. India 69/3
7:49: Short ball to Rahul, but just one run. Yuvraj takes a single the next ball. Rahul comes down the track and converts the ball into a full toss to hit a six. Another powerful shot all along the carpet for a single. Ten runs from the over. India 67/2, 10overs (Rahul 35, Yuvraj 2)
7:46: Rahul needs to carry his bat through. He starts the over with a single, and there is some huge turn for Moeen Ali to Yuvraj, who plays the sweep shot in the next ball, does not connect. Just one run from the over. India 57/2, 9 overs (Rahul 27, Yuvraj 0)
7:43: Yuvraj in the middle, and he plays two dot balls to end the over. India 56/2, 8 overs (Rahul 26, Yuvraj 0)
7:41: Adil Rashid to Raina, who greets him with a single. He is giving the ball some air, which is needed in this track. Boundaries are hard to come by, and Raina goes for a big shot, and he does not get enough willow and is held in the deep. India 56/2
7:37: Moeen Ali, and this is crucial time for India with the pitch expected to assist him. Raina takes a single in the first ball. Rahul with a reverse sweep for three runs. That is good running between the wicket. Eight runs from the over. India 54/1, 7 overs (Rahul 25, Raina 6)
7:32: Ben Stokes to Rahul, who goes for a wild shot, misses it, but the umpire calls it wide. He takes a single in the third man region. Raina gets beaten, playing an aggressive shot, he and taps the ball in the leg side for a single. Timing from Rahul, who splits the gap to hit a glorious four in the off-side. India 46/1, 6 overs (Rahul 21, Raina 3)
7:27: Rahul takes over, and hits a wonderful four over extra cover. That was one bounce four for Rahul, who takes single in the next ball. Suresh Raina to face his first ball, and is beaten outside the off stump as he opens the face of the bat. He gets off the mark with a dab in the third man. India 37/1, 5 overs (Rahul 15, Raina 1)
7:22: WICKET - Kohli is gone as he top edges Jordan's slower ball and is caught by Dawson. India 30/1.
7:20: Mills to Kohli. On the backfoot from Kohli and over the bowler's head for a six. Kohli is on a roll as the skipper plays a pull shot for a four. AWESOME from Kohli, who takes another couple. He plays an uppish drive. 15 runs from the over as Rahul ends the over with another two. India 30/0, 4 overs (Kohli 21, Rahul 9)
7:15: Jordan replaces Dawson, and Kohli survives a close LBW call in the second ball of the third over. After Kohli's single, Rahul flicks the ball for a couple. The pitch already looks slow. Rahul with another couple with a slow-looking-pull-shot. India 15/0, 3 overs (Kohli 8, Rahul 7)
7:10: Tymal Mills with the second over. Kohli at the batting end and the skipper plays with a straight bat, times well, but does not beat the fielder. Kohli goes for a pull shot, and he top edges the ball to the third man region, luckily goes for a four. Sam Billings, what an effort in the deep. Kohli follows that with a single. Good over from Mills, who bowls two dot ball to Rahul. India 10/0, 2 overs (Kohli 7, Rahul 3)
7:05: England start with spin as they open the bolwing with slow-left arm Liam Dawson. Kohli gets off the mark with an off-drive for a single. Quick running between the two as Rahul completes a couple. Dawson is giving the ball some air. Kohli finishes the over with a single. India 5/0, 1 over (Kohli 2, Rahul 3)
7pm: Here we go, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are in the middle. Rahul will be under pressure to perform in the T20 after below par performances of late by the opener.
6:57: Time for national anthems. The atmosphere is already buzzing and if India batsmen start with some quality boundaries, it is going to be even more wonderful.
6:50: There is a serious need for India to put up a good score on the board, for which the top order has to score runs. If the top order provides a solid base for the middle order, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni can use their willow to score in excess of 180 runs and pile pressure on England, who also have some incredible hitters in their ranks.
6:45: Teams: India: Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashish Nehra.
England: Sam Billings, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Liam Dwason, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid.
6:35: England wins the toss. Eoin Morgan says England will bowl first, meaning India will have to bat first and set up a good target. Kohli is not too upset after losing the toss.
6:30: Naser Hussain and Sunil Gavaskar with the match report and the Indian feels there will be some spin in the pitch. But, for me, it looks like a batting pitch. Toss coming up soon.
6:25: With the pitch report and toss round the corner, the match is just inching closer. Both teams possess some wonderful batsmen, and it would come as no surprise if the team winning the toss decides to bowl first and chase the target.
6pm: Moving over to cricket, what a game we have in our hands. India will be desperate to shine against England in the second T20. It is a must-win game for India as a loss will mean handing the over the series to England, which skipper Virat Kohli will not want. The captain, with his fighting spirit and hunger to win attitude, will ask for a better performance from his players in Nagpur, tonight. Can they lift their game to match the talented English side?
5:50: Talking about non-cricket news (sorry, I cannot ignore this even if you do not like it) - Federer has defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final, thrilling five sets. It has to be one of the best Grand Slam final. EPIC...Here is the match report.
5:30: This India team love their football. They are always seen, playing some light football during practice sessions.
#TeamIndia members warm-up with a game of football in Nagpur #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/ANgJGn7ztn
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 28, 2017
5:20 pm IST: Earlier in the day, India cricket fans woke up to some tragic news. India's under-19 team trainer Rajesh Sawant was found dead in the team hotel in Mumbai. If you want to know more, click here. It is a great loss to India cricket considering he was one of the best in the business. Can India win the second T20 for Sawant?
Hello there, you lovely people. Welcome to the live blog coverage of India vs England 2nd T20 match, schedule at VCA Stadium in Nagpur. I am Ashim Sunam (if you want to follow me on twitter -- click here) and I am going to bring you all the live action from the game with the oohs and aahs moment, which you do not want to miss. If you stay with me here, I will promise you don't miss anything.
Watch India vs England 2nd T20 live
Expected India vs England T20 line-up
With the pitch in Nagpur said to be batting friendly, the crowd is expected to be treated to a run-feast. I am already feeling sorry for the bowlers, who have in the last couple of years been on the receiving end after the advent of the T20 format.
What makes the T20 format so special is the fact that one does not need all the players to come into the party. Few big overs and a mega knock from one player or an inspiring bowling effort could be enough for victory.
After India lost the first T20, resulting from a poor batting effort, all the India batsmen will be eager to take the England bowlers on. This is exactly what the home crowd in Nagpur would want!!!
We will know if they can in a matter of two hours, when the second T20 will start.
