Hosts India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against England as Tilak Varma’s 72 not-out carried them to their target of 166.
England batted first again and stumbled to 165/9, once again led by captain Jos Buttler who top-scored with 45.
Indian spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel brought their form from Kolkata to Chennai as they picked up two wickets each.
England’s defence of their score got off to a good start with fast bowlers Mark Wood and Jofra Archer taking an early wicket each but number three Varma remained at the crease until the end.
His 72 came off 55 balls with four 4s and five 6s and despite Brydon Carse’s three wickets England failed to dismiss the set batter, who added 20 with number ten Ravi Bishnoi to seal back-to-back victories.
Here are the player ratings:
England
- Phil Salt (WK) – 2/10
4 (3), 1 catch; dismissed by Arshdeep after three balls again to continue his poor start to the series. Took a simple catch off Overton’s bowling to get Pandya out
2. Ben Duckett – 2/10
3 (6), 1 catch; similarly to Salt, he’s had a poor start to the series. Caught Patel at deep mid-wicket off Livingstone’s bowling
3. Jos Buttler (WK) – 7/10
45 (30); another game where he stepped up as captain to play the leading role in England’s innings. Got out too early for his side to get close to 200
4. Harry Brook – 3/10
13 (8); another low score and bowled by Chakravarthy for the second game in a row
5. Liam Livingstone – 4/10
13 (14), 1/14 off 2 overs; smashed Patel to deep backward square leg to get out cheaply but then got the all-rounder out when he smashed the ball to Duckett in the deep. Produced a brilliant diving stop at the start of India’s final over to prevent a boundary and keep England in the game, but Varma finished it off anyway
6. Jamie Smith – 5/10
22 (12); promising innings on T20I debut, including two long sixes over long-off and long-on, but then hit Patel into the hands of Varma at long-off
7. Jamie Overton – 5/10
5 (7), 1/20 off 2.2 overs; another low score but bowled well, taking the big wicket of Pandya with his first ball
8. Brydon Carse – 8/10
31 (17), 3/29 off 4 overs, 1 catch; impressive batting, with three 6s, which took England up to a higher score than they were heading towards. Took three middle-order wickets to bring his side back into the game and also caught Samson in the deep off Archer’s bowling
9. Jofra Archer 3/10
12* (9), 1/60 off 4 overs, 1 catch; helped England get over 160 with the bat but got smashed around with the ball by Varma. Caught Arshdeep at deep backward square leg off Rashid to maintain England’s hopes
10. Adil Rashid – 7/10
10 (11), 1/14 off 4 overs; bowled much better than the first game with an economy off 3.5 and picked up the wicket of Arshdeep late on. Also batted well with Archer to get England to a good score
11. Mark Wood – 6/10
5* (3), 1/28 off 3 overs; took the early wicket of the dangerous Abhishek to give England a good start to their defence and also found a boundary in their final batting over
India
- Sanju Samson (WK) – 3/10
5 (7), 1 catch; caught in the deep off Archer early on. Took a simple catch off Pandya’s bowling to dismiss Rashid near the end of England’s innings
2. Abhishek Sharma – 5/10
12 (6), 1/12 off 1 over; bowled by Wood for a low score but picked up an important wicket of Smith after being hit for 10 off his first two balls
3. Tilak Varma – 9/10
72* (55), 2 catches; steered India all the way home after coming in early and combining for 40 with the tail. Caught Buttler and Smith near the boundary off Patel and Abhishek’s bowling
4. Suryakumar Yadav (C) – 3/10
12 (7); hit three 4s but got bowled by Carse just before the powerplay ended
5. Dhruv Jurel – 3/10
4 (5), 1 catch, 1 run out; miscued a pull off Carse to sub-fielder Rehan Ahmed for not many. Took a simple catch off Sundar’s bowling after Duckett skied his reverse sweep and ran out Carse, who had brought England’s score up to a good level
6. Hardik Pandya – 5/10
7 (6), 1/6 off 2 overs; edged Overton’s first ball to Salt but bowled well with a good economy and nicked off Rashid late on
7. Washington Sundar – 7/10
26 (19), 1/9 off 1 over, 1 catch; dismissed Duckett early on and also caught Salt before some good hitting helped India back into pole position after being pegged back by England
8. Axar Patel – 7/10
2 (3), 2/32 off 4 overs; slogged Livingstone straight to Duckett at deep mid-wicket but took the wickets of Buttler, most importantly, and Livingstone
9. Arshdeep Singh 4/10
6 (4), 1/40 off 4 overs; bowled expensively but dismissed Salt early on again. Combined for a 20-run partnership with Varma to strengthen India’s chance of winning
10. Ravi Bishnoi – 6/10
9* (5), 0/27 off 4 overs; didn’t pick up any wickets but had a good economy. Hit two 4s at the end of India’s chase to help them over the line
11. Varun Chakravarthy – 6/10
DNB, 2/38 off 4 overs; more expensive than in the first game but bowled Brook for the second time as well as Overton