Kuldeep goes wicket-less, Hales smashes unbeaten 58, England level series

England won the toss and opted to ball first in the series deciding second T20I against India at Sofia Garden, Cardiff.

The Indian wrist spinners threatened, beat the bat on numerous occasions, even hit the pads to thunderous appeals but were unable to replicate Old Trafford in Cardiff as Alex Hales held his nerves to snatch a thrilling five-wicket victory for England in the 2^nd T20I to level the series.

Alex hales had a tough time against Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal but did not give his wicket away and in the end remained unbeaten on 58 off 41 balls to chase down the target with 2 balls to spare and keep England’s unbeaten record at Cardiff intact.

Defending a low total of 148, the Indian bowlers did a commendable job to make England huff and puff in the chase. And in fact, brought it down to 20 off the final two with Umesh bowling a superb a penultimate over to push the match to the final over.

Trusted to defend 12, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had given only 7 runs in his three overs, failed to execute his plans, giving away a six and boundary in his first two balls.

The use of Merlyn did wonders for England. Kuldeep, who picked up five wickets in the previous match, went wicket-less. His spin bowling partner Chahal, did make a fool of Joe Root but was played out by Hales and Morgan without further damage.

Apart from Hales, Johnny Bairstow(28 off 17) played a crucial innings in the middle, hitting Kuldeep for two sixes in his last over to ease the pressure on Hales.

The series will now be decided in Bristol on Sunday.

India innings

MS Dhoni hit three boundaries, taking 22 runs in the final over off Jake Ball to push India’s total to 148 for 5 on distinctively different pitch at the Sofia Garden in Cardiff.

Skipper Virat Kohli top-scored with 47 against a much-improved England bowling, but it was Dhoni's effort that gave India's total a semblance respectability.

Dhoni remained unbeaten on 32 off 24 balls with the help of five boundaries.

Sent into bat after the coin landed in favour of Eoin Morgan, India were off to an inauspicious start, losing the opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan and last game's centurion KL Rahul, with just 22 runs on the board.

The visitors often struggled to cope with the bounce the Sophia Gardens surface offered to the English bowlers. 

However, Kohli stood firm amid the ruins and found an able ally in Suresh Raina (27), with whom the captain added 57 runs for the fourth wicket.

Coming into the game on the back of a convincing eight-wicket victory in the opening game of the three-match series, visiting India were in for a few shocks early on as Jake Ball, playing in place of Moeen Ali, seemed to justify the selection by having Sharma caught behind in the second over.

Dhawan was run out because of poor running between the wickets, while the in-form Rahul was bowled by Plunkett to leave India reeling in the fifth over.

Having made 27 off 20 balls with the help of two boundaries and a six, Raina was stumped by Buttler off Adil Rashid, the spinner making amends after being hit for a six and four by Kohli in his previous over.

Three short of his half century, Kohli fell to a good catch by Joe Root off the bowling of David Willey, as England celebrated the huge wicket.

Kohli struck two sixes and a four in his 38-ball knock, before former captain Dhoni took over.

For England, Willey, Ball, Liam Plunkett and Rashid picked up a wicket each.

Toss Report

England won the toss and opted to bowl first in the series deciding second T20I against India at Sofia Garden, Cardiff.

Fighting to stay alive in the series, England have brought in Jake Ball in place of all-rounder Moeen Ali going in the opposite direction of India, who rely heavily on their wrist spinners.

"The wicket looks good. The weather has been good. We have one change: Jake Ball comes in. The combination of both, obviously India are strong against spin. So we have gone for seam versus spin. It is a good situation to be win, the pressure to get results," said England captain Eoin Morgan.

India, on the other hand, quite expectedly have gone in with an unchanged squad and would again look to use their wrist spinners, this time to contain England in the chase.

Kohli believes, the pitch would not change much and quietly brushed aside Willey’s comments about Indian bowlers pulling out from their run-ups as a tactic.

“It will not change over 40 overs and that is the positive I take. When you have a young side, they are fearless, enjoying the country. That will challenge their character as well. The side boundaries will help them. It does not matter these things (Willey’s comments), when they happen and how they happen,” said Virat Kohli.

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jos Buttler(w), Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Jonny Bairstow, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball