Kanpur: Invited to bat, India struggled their way to 147 for seven against England in the first cricket Twenty20 International at Green Park Stadium, here on Thursday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the highest scorer for India with an unbeaten 36 while Moeen Ali took two wickets for 21 runs for the visitors.
The Indian innings never really took flight as wickets at regular intervals halted their proceedings. Virat Kohli tried to spring in a surprise by deciding to the open the innings with KL Rahul. The move looked a masterstroke until Moeen Ali cut short Kohli’s innings for 29.
Comeback man Suresh Raina started off well but he too perished when he was looking threatening. England bowlers got a firm grip on the match as soon Raina fell and the scoring rate dipped at rapid pace.
Dhoni held the innings together with his unbeaten 36. But lack of support from the other end did not allow him to play his natural game and India crawled their way to 147/7 at the end of 20 overs.
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