England slide to defeat by India in second T20

Second T20, Chennai

England 165-9 (20 overs): Buttler 45 (30), Axar 2-32

India 166-8 (19.2 overs): Tilak 72* (55), Carse 3-29

India won by eight wickets, lead five-match series 2-0

Brydon Carse’s efforts with bat and ball were in vain as England suffered a two-wicket defeat to India in the second T20 international.

Asked to bat first again, England bettered their total from the first match of the series when they posted a defendable, if not particularly imposing, 165-9 in Chennai.

With a 45-ball strike that was remarkably fluent, captain Jos Buttler top scored for England for the second game in a row.

When Buttler holed out to deep mid-wicket off Axar Patel to leave England 77-4, India’s spinners threatened to cut England’s middle order apart.

However, Jamie Smith confidently hit 22 off 12 balls on his T20 international debut before Carse bludgeoned 31 off 17 to ensure the tourists posted a semi-competitive total.

As the hosts worked hard in the chase, Carse then took the lead with a 3-29 victory over India’s Suryakumar Yadav in his four overs, which included his wicket.

India stumbled to a 78-5 deficit, but Tilak Varma combined intelligent running between the wickets with aggressive strokeplay, hitting five sixes, and a mature knock.

After the ninth ball of India’s innings, the left-hander batted through for an unbeaten 72.

Last summer Smith swaggered into England’s Test side like he always belonged, and his nascent rise into one of his country’s multi-format stars continued at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Smith made his England debut in the format despite Buttler’s dismissal and his lack of experience in subcontinental conditions. Smith looked utterly unfazed when he came to the crease.

With just his fourth delivery, he confidently hit spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who had earlier flummoxed Harry Brook with his leg breaks, for a majestic six, before another towering six off Abhishek Sharma.

The only blot was a touch of overconfidence for his dismissal, falling to Abhishek after striking back-to-back boundaries off the left-arm spinner.

If Bethell is available, Smith might be asked to step down for the third T20 in Rajkot on Tuesday. How long can Buttler and Brendon McCullum ignore him?

While Smith’s star is burning brightly, wicketkeeper Phil Salt’s has dimmed a little.

The England opener had a disappointing day, scoring four times in his last five T20 appearances, and carelessly gave his wicket away.

Washington Sundar had a straightforward catch down at square leg when Salt hooked an early short ball from Arshdeep Singh and dragged it across the line from outside off stump.

In all of those four low scores, left-wingers have dismissed him.

West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and left-arm seamer Arshdeep have snagged his wicket twice in this series. He fell twice to them during England’s December tour of the Caribbean.

With the series taking 11 English wickets so far, India’s bowling attack was dominated by spinners, which is unlikely to change.

The most wickets England they have lost to spin in a T20 series is 14 (twice vs New Zealand, 2019 and 2023) and there are still three matches to go here.

In contrast, Carse stood out among their crowd of quicks and England largely put their faith in motion.

The Durham man was recalled to the side in place of Gus Atkinson, whose two overs cost 38 runs in the first T20 in Kolkata.

Since David Willey’s 33 against India in 2022, which amounted to the highest T20 score by an England number eight, Carse continued to build that momentum into his bowling.

His versatility on a pitch that demanded know-how and raw pace underlined his suitability for this format and circumstances.

Jofra Archer, who bowled brilliantly in the first match, found it tough going with a rather rigid short-ball approach.

Archer vanished for 60 runs off of his four overs, which were his most expensive T20 runs, but Carse quickly learned and expertly ran his length.

In addition to Carse’s versatility in the longer format, Ben Stokes used his abilities in the longer format to describe him as “three bowlers in one” during England’s most recent Test tour of New Zealand.

It was telling, though, that Adil Rashid was England’s most miserly bowler. His economy of 3.50 and was exactly half that of Carse’s.

England captain Jos Buttler: “It was a great game, really exciting. We created a lot of chances and were really aggressive, we pushed them close.

We started the game on and came up with what was almost a defendable score, I’m pleased with how we handled it right away. I was pleased with the way we played. “

Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of India, said, “Obviously there is a little relief, they bowled really well, and it’s good the game ended up being a success.”

“We play an aggressive style of cricket, but the boys are putting their hands up and creating those partnerships when necessary.”