Bishoni supported Varma at the fag end to take India over the line in the Chennai T20I.
Chasing 166 to win, the Men in Blue rode on Tilak Varma’s 72* off 55 balls to overhaul the target with four deliveries to spare. India were reeling at 78/5 at one stage but Tilak added 38 runs for the sixth wicket with Washington Sundar to keep the hosts in the hunt.
While Sundar fell after scoring 26 off 19 balls, Tilak held the one end firmly and batted brilliantly with the tail. His unbeaten 20-run partnership with leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (9* off 5) took India over the line.
After the victory, Bishnoi made a cheeky “why should batters have all the fun?” comment as he reflected on his gameplan towards the fag end.
“My job was to give him (Tilak) strike and not play any unnecessary shots. Today I posted a reel on Instagram – “Why should batters have all the fun?" When the slip came in, I knew they were trying to dismiss me with leg-spin. I tried to go over covers but I got a lucky four," Bishnoi said in the post-match interview.
“(We told each other) let’s try, we will get (achieve) it," the spinner further stated.
Bishnoi was effusive in praise of Tilak, who smashed four boundaries and five sixes in his match-winning knock.
“One of the best innings in T20s. Wickets were falling, it wasn’t an easy wicket and if you look at their bowling attack, they had all the big names," Bishnoi remarked.
“He’s doing this from the last 2-3 months. He got two hundred in South Africa, he’s playing well in the domestic arena as well, we knew something big was coming. He’s doing really big now."
With this victory, India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against England. The two sides will now square off in the third T20I at Rajkot on January 28.
(With agency inputs)