IND vs ENG Man of the Match: The Indian fast bowler won the Player of the Match award for picking two crucial wickets with the new ball.
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During the second T20I of the ongoing India’s tour of England in Birmingham, India beat England by 49 runs to gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in a three-match series. Having already missed out on an opportunity to register a series victory here albeit in a completely different format, the visitors haven’t let gone of this opportunity of winning a T20I series at Edgbaston.
Put in to bat first by England captain Jos Buttler, India lost half their side around the halfway mark. Yet to cross the 100-run mark at this point in time, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja scored a career-best 46* (29) with the help of five fours to guide his team to a respectable 170/8 in 20 overs.
With bowling figures of 4-0-27-4, England pacer Chris Jordan was the pick of their bowlers tonight. Other than Jordan, England’s only other wicket-taker was debutant pacer Richard Gleeson who dismissed Rohit Sharma (31), Virat Kohli (1) and Rishabh Pant (26) to return with figures of 4-1-15-3.
IND vs ENG Man of the Match today
Chasing a 171-run target, England put on display a second consecutive poor batting effort managing to score just 121 in 17 overs. All-rounders Moeen Ali (35) and David Willey (33*) tried their best in the middle overs but a top-order failure was too much to cover.
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was their best bowler with figures of 3-1-15-3. Having dismissed opening batter Jason Roy (0) on the first ball of the innings, Kumar dismissed Buttler (4) for the second time in a row in his second over.
Kumar’s new-ball partner in Jasprit Bumrah was no less dismissing Liam Livingstone (15) and Sam Curran (2) to pick bowling figures of 3-1-10-2. India’s new ball pair picking combined figures of 6-2-25-5 made the job of the remaining bowlers quite easy.
Kumar, 32, was declared the Player of the Match for the fourth time in his T20I career. In what is his third T20I match away from home and since the start of 2021, it is his second against England.
“When the ball swings, you definitely enjoy. In the last few years, there is not much help with the ball in England but this year it’s more. White ball getting swing upfront is a motivational factor for fast bowler and batters have to take their chances,” Kumar told Sky Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.
