England’s spin has been a major problem for them. While Jos Buttler was brilliant with his 44-ball 68, the rest of the batsmen have struggled in the middle overs. Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi’s bowling versatility has proved difficult for England. These three bowlers have conceded less than six runs per over and have taken five crucial wickets. England could only manage 132 runs in this run fest.
India’s batting line-up was very aggressive. Sanju Samson’s quick start of 22 runs and Abhishek Sharma’s brilliant innings of 79 runs off 34 balls made the match difficult for England. Abhishek Sharma’s batting was strong, where he hit multiple boundaries and sixes. This performance ensured that India secured victory with just 43 balls to spare.
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Both the teams adopted different approaches in their bowling strategies. England fielded four fast bowlers, while India fielded just one specialist fast bowler (Arshdeep Singh) and three full-time spinners. Arshdeep Singh took his wicket off his second ball.
Buttler was the mainstay of England’s batting innings. He started strongly and sent the ball to boundaries at various leg-side gaps. But the other batters could not support him. Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, and Jacob Bethell all succumbed to spin.
Varun Chakravarty was the most dominant Indian bowler. His googly and stump-to-stump bowling confused the England batsmen. Meanwhile, Arshdeep’s pace and variation quickly destroyed England’s top order.
There was some hope for England’s pace bowlers, especially Jofra Archer’s right line and length. He took the wickets of Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav. However, Abhishek Sharma’s blistering batting and the depth of the Indian batting line-up ensured that England never got back into the game.
Adil Rashid’s leg-spin was brought in late, which did not bring any further positive change for England. Abhishek Sharma dominated his innings and brought the match to a close.
India’s win was another testament to their recent excellent form, where they have won 14 of their 16 matches in a row. On the other hand, it was a tough start for new England coach Brendon McCullum.
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