Today England beat India by seven wickets in the first of the three match T20 series at Kanpur. Skipper Eoin Morgan and Joe Root set up the victory for the visitors in front of a rather subdued crowd at the Green Park stadium.
It will be the first time that Kohli will captain India in T20Is. England have a surprisingly good record against India in T20Is, having won five out of eight T20Is.
With the focus mainly on Tests and ODIs in the current home season, India found themselves playing a T20I after almost five months. The rustiness was evident as they put in a display in front of a packed Kanpur crowd.
Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to let the hosts deal with the problem of identifying a competitive total on a tricky Green Park surface. England restricted India to a sub-par score and cruised to a seven-wicket victory as well as the accompanying 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Yuzvendra Chahal – 8
Chahal’s impressive spell was a positive for India from this forgettable encounter. Even though his first delivery was hammered into the stands, the leg-spinner kept his nerve and came back with two wickets in the over to briefly raise the home team’s hopes. England smartly played out his next three overs to deny him any more inroads.
Suresh Raina – 7
Returning to the Indian team after the World T20 semi-final against West Indies, Raina got into his groove straight away. Occupying the vital number three spot, the southpaw appeared to be batting on a completely different track when compared to his team-mates. He continuously found the boundary with some crisp strokes. However, a well-directed yorker halted his charge.
MS Dhoni – 6.5
With wickets falling at the other end, Dhoni remained content in nudging the ball and keeping the scoreboard ticking. After plundering ten runs from the first three deliveries of the final over, the 35-year old backed himself to see the innings to a close. Interestingly, he chose to refuse singles off consecutive deliveries in order to seek bigger returns.
Parvez Rasool – 5.5
Rasool got a few international runs to his name before sacrificing his wicket during the final over. Despite picking up Eoin Morgan’s wicket, it was too little, too late for both himself as well as his team as the left-hander had already inflicted irreparable damage.
Virat Kohli – 5
The most consistent batsman in international T20s, Kohli opened the innings to maximize his output even further. A flurry of boundaries vindicated his decision. When it seemed like he was set for a big score, a misjudged shot coupled with a smart take by his counterpart ended the Indian skipper’s stay at the crease.
Hardik Pandya – 5
A few lusty blows from Pandya could have swelled India’s total towards the end overs. Instead, he could only manage a 12-ball 9 before giving Tymal Mills his maiden international scalp. The all-rounder did offer a couple of quiet overs with the ball, though.
Ashish Nehra – 5
Nehra began decently by conceding just four runs in his opening over. But, he was not able to tackle Jason Roy’s brazen stroke-play. While the total was admittedly below par, an early wicket or two from the veteran seamer might have made the game interesting.
Jasprit Bumrah – 4.5
Although he castled Joe Root twice in two deliveries, Bumrah could not keep his foot behind the line. His first over, which saw three fours and a massive six, all but ended India’s slim chances of defending the total.
Yuvraj Singh – 3.5
Apart from drilling a tempting delivery down the ground, Yuvraj did not much with the bat. Though he looked to get himself in, a shorter delivery from Liam Plunkett became his undoing. It did not help matters that Adil Rashid covered good ground and completed a brilliant catch.
Manish Pandey – 2
Playing his first international game in almost three months, Pandey walked into a precarious situation and got into a real tangle against Moeen Ali’s tight line. When he was dismissed for a 5-ball 3, India’s collapse turned from uncertain to treacherous.
KL Rahul – 1.5
Having scored a remarkable century during his previous T20I innings, Rahul failed to make any impact this time around. He was unable to handle Chris Jordan’s sharp bouncer and prolonged his woeful form in recent times with another single-digit score.
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