IND vs ENG, 2nd T20I: Tilak Varma’s crafty fifty takes India over the line in last over thriller against England

IND vs ENG, 2nd T20I: Tilak Varma’s crafty fifty takes India over the line in last over thriller against England

The second T20I between India and England at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday typified the ebbs and flows that have come to define the game’s shortest format. Ultimately, a crafty, brisk, and unbeaten 55-ball 72 from Tilak Varma guided India to a narrow two-wicket win, handing the host a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

India bowled 14 overs of spin, while England managed just six. India fielded four spinners; England deployed four pacers. A glance at the team sheets before the start of play suggested that one of the teams had seriously misjudged the conditions. By the halfway mark, England’s 165 for nine — with six wickets falling to spinners — seemed competitive but confirmed that India had once again judged the fresh, black-soil pitch to perfection.

However, as India’s chase unfolded, England’s pace-heavy attack suddenly appeared to be the right call. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer struck early, removing both openers cheaply. Brydon Carse followed up by forcing Suryakumar Yadav to chop on during the PowerPlay, leaving India struggling at 59 for three.

Amidst this early mini-collapse, Tilak provided a spark that lit up the Chepauk crowd. Facing Archer at full throttle, Tilak smashed two crisp fours and a towering 82-metre six over long leg off a 150 kph thunderbolt. He would later prove to be the linchpin of the chase.

Meanwhile, the quick dismissals of Dhruv Jurel and Hardik Pandya left India reeling at under 80 for five. The home team desperately needed a circuit-breaker, and it arrived in the 13th over when Washington Sundar, on 10, chipped Wood to Adil Rashid, who spilled the catch. A rattled Wood overstepped a ball later, conceding a free hit that Sundar smashed for six, followed by two fours. The momentum briefly shifted as India brought the equation down to 53 off seven overs. But just as a comeback seemed possible, Carse returned to clean bowl Sundar, and Liam Livingstone had Axar Patel caught, swinging the match back in England’s favour.

As if the drama weren’t enough, the same pace that had bolstered England until now proved to be its undoing. Archer was carted for 19 runs in the 16th over by Tilak, who struck a 38-ball fifty, and Arshdeep Singh. Tilak would eventually take India over the line, in the company of Ravi Bishnoi, with four balls to spare.

Earlier, after India chose to bowl, Arshdeep began his spell to Phil Salt with one slip and a long leg, and a square leg as the boundary riders. He opened with a fullish in-swinger, which Salt whipped over mid-wicket for four. Adjusting immediately, Arshdeep shortened his length and bowled short outside off, forcing Salt to fetch the ball. The batter pulled it straight to Sundar at square leg, the only man stationed deep on the leg side. With this dismissal, Arshdeep extended his remarkable streak of taking a PowerPlay wicket in each of his last nine T20I matches.

However, Jos Buttler targeted Arshdeep in his second over, smashing him for 16 runs, including two fours and a six. In response, Suryakumar made a bowling change, which paid dividends immediately. Sundar replaced Pandya in the fourth over, and Ben Duckett, batting on 3 off 6, attempted a reverse sweep off his first ball, only to offer Jurel a simple catch after the ball ballooned into the off side.

By the end of the PowerPlay, it was evident to Suryakumar and anyone watching that batting conditions favoured playing against pace. Recognising this, he starved the English batters of pace, bringing Varun Chakravarthy into the attack in the seventh over. Harry Brook, who had partly blamed Kolkata’s smog for his struggles reading Varun’s variations, was again undone by one of the spinner’s deceptive back-of-the-hand deliveries. Meanwhile, Buttler, who had blazed his way to 38 off 22 by this stage, must have silently cursed the decision to include only one frontline spinner in the playing XI. Those regrets turned into nightmares when Axar ended Buttler’s counterattack on 45 and dismissed Livingstone in his next over, leaving England reeling at 90 for five.

Just as the overwhelming stench of surrender to spin — responsible for 11 English wickets in the series so far — threatened to culminate in another swift collapse, the bowling all-rounders, particularly Carse with his 17-ball 31, revived the visitor, giving it a fighting chance. And fight it did, but in the end, Tilak and India walked away with the spoils.