England Beat India By 8 Wickets In 1st T20I, Lead Series 1-0

Updated: Sat, Mar 13 2021 09:33 IST
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England thrashed India by eight wickets in the first T20 International here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.

India 124/7 in 20 overs (S Iyer 67, J Archer 3/23, A Rashid 1/14, M Wood 1/20) lost to England 130/2 in 15.3 overs (J Roy 49, J Bairstow 26 not out, J Buttler 28).

India vs England 1st T20I Match Report

England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss, fielded first and India slipped to 48-4. The visitors opened the bowling with leg-spinner Adil Rashid (1/14 in 3 overs) who picked the wicket of skipper Virat Kohli in only his second over.

Jofra Archer claimed KL Rahul who hit an inside edge on to the stumps. Fellow quick Mark Wood rattled Shikhar Dhawan's stumps.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant reverse hit Archer for a six behind the stumps, but he fell to Ben Stokes for 21.

 

Shreyas Iyer scored his third T20 fifty and put on 54 for the fifth wicket with Hardik Pandya, who smashed 19, to boost the Indian total. His 67 off 48 balls helped India put on 124 in the first innings. 

Chasing a modest 125, Jason Roy hit a confident 49 as England romped home in 15.3 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

Openers Roy and Jos Buttler did not have to do anything out of the ordinary or take undue risks as the target was small. Even then the two added 72 runs in eight overs to give the visitors a rollicking start.

Buttler was scalped by Yuzvendra Chahal who was taken for 44 in his four overs while Roy was picked by Washington Sundar.

However, Jonny Bairstow (26 not out off 17 balls) and Dawid Malan (24 not out off 20 balls) took the visiting side to the target with 27 balls to spare. The two shared an unbeaten 41-run partnership for the third wicket.

 

Kohli blamed a "below-par batting performance" by his side.

"There was a lack of execution of some of the shots. We have to come back with much more intent and clarity of plan. The wicket did not allow you to play the kind of shots you wanted to," he added.

The second T20 between the two sides will be played at the same venue on Sunday.

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