England lose by 50 runs in disappointing T20I defeat to India
Jos Buttler is bowled FIRST ball in his debut match as permanent white-ball captain with England losing by 50 runs in disappointing T20 defeat by India… and skipper admits: ‘We were outplayed’
- Jos Buttler and Liam Livingston were bowled for ducks as England lost to India
- Buttler’s troops failed to chase down anything close to 198/8 and lost by 50 runs
- Eoin Morgan stepped down as captain last week to incite a new white-ball era
- England had a disappointing start with the bat and were 33/4 after just 6.1 overs
- Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers for India with four wickets in 24 balls
The Jos Buttler era got off to an underwhelming start in Southampton on Thursday as England were thrashed by India in the first T20 international by 50 runs.
The new captain fell first ball, Liam Livingstone also made nought, and Jason Roy contributed a horrible four off 16 deliveries as the hosts made a pig’s ear of a chase of 199.
Bazball this was not. Right now, English cricket feels very upside-down.
New captain Jos Buttler was bowled first ball as England struggled to replicate their Test form
In fairness, India – ranked No 1 in the world in this format – enjoyed the best of the conditions. The sun shone after they chose to bat on a firm, true Ageas Bowl surface, and the lights shone when they bowled, seemingly adding nip off the pitch.
Even so, the new-ball efforts of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, debutant left-armer Arshdeep Singh – who began with a maiden – and Hardik Pandya were superb.
India’s six-over powerplay had brought them a solid 66 for two, with captain Rohit Sharma – back from Covid – giving them a flying start with 24 off 14. By contrast, England limped to 32 for three in their powerplay as India swarmed all over them.
The first four balls of the chase had produced just a single for Roy off Bhuvneshwar, leaving Buttler on strike for only his second T20 innings since he took the IPL by storm with Rajasthan Royals in April and May.
His first delivery was near unplayable, swinging late and cannoning into the stumps via his pads. You didn’t need the data geeks to tell you that his departure for a golden duck was not good news for England’s chances.
India bowled England out for 148 after posting a total of 198 for eight wickets with the bat
As Roy scratched around, Dawid Malan connected with a few blows before edging Pandya on to his stumps for 21, and it was 29 for three when Livingstone – moving a long way across to the off side in search of a scoop – provided wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik with a simple catch.
When Roy top-edged Pandya all the way to third man, angrily snapping off a glove as he departed, England were 33 for four and in need of something special. Up in the Sky commentary box, the recently retired Eoin Morgan might have been glad he was not in next.
That said, he would have approved of Harry Brook’s promising 28, including a powerful flat-batted six off Pandya.
And there were some characteristically lovely touches from Moeen Ali during a 20-ball 36, not least an almighty mow over midwicket off slow left-armer Axar Patel, who tormented England’s Test batsmen when they toured India last year.
Liam Livingstone scored a duck after three deliveries as England fell to 29/3 off 4.6 overs
But when leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal removed both in the 13th over, England’s chances went from slim to none. For the large Indian contingent in the crowd, it was as if their Test team’s seismic defeat in Birmingham two days earlier had been instantly forgotten.
With better fielding from India – Karthik was especially culpable behind the stumps – this would have been an even bigger drubbing. As it was, the margin left little room for doubt.
‘We were outplayed by India,’ said Buttler. ‘Their new-ball spell was fantastic, and it was hard for us to get back in the game after that. I haven’t seen the ball swing that much in a T20 game for a while.’
Things won’t get any easier for Buttler’s team, either: for the weekend games at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, India will be able to choose from the players who took part in the Test.
The tourists had looked destined for at least 220 after reaching 141 for four after 13 overs, with forceful contributions from Deepak Hooda (33 off 17 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (39 off 19).
But Axar looked two places too high at No 6, and Reece Topley took the important wicket of Pandya for a 33-ball 51.
Between them, Topley and Chris Jordan conceded just nine off the 18th and 19th overs as the tourists had to settle for 198. At the time, it seemed England had bowled themselves back into contention.
Hardik Pandya bagged four wickets in four overs to dismantle England’s ambitious run chase
Jordan, now 33, could do with a strong summer to justify his place at the T20 World Cup in Australia.
He was hit around by New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham during last year’s semi-final defeat in Abu Dhabi, and went for more than 10 an over in the Caribbean in January. Some feared he was beginning to lose his edge.
But figures of two for 23 made him the pick of England’s bowlers, and took him past Adil Rashid – who is on holy pilgrimage in Mecca – as the country’s leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals, with 82.
It was a rare moment of cheer for England on a night when their T20 team could have done with some of the Test side’s stardust.
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