India and England faced each other in the first game of the five-match T20I series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday (March 12).
Asked to bat first, the hosts posted 124/7 in 20 overs. Shreyas Iyer was the lone warrior with the bat, scoring 67 off 48 balls with 8 fours and a six. Apart from Iyer, none of the Indian batsmen managed to touch the 25-run mark.
WATCH: Rishabh Pant plays an outrageous reverse scoop to Jofra Archer for a six
Jofra Archer was the stand-out bowler for England, claiming 3 wickets by conceding 23 runs in his four overs. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid (1-14) also bowled economically and took a wicket in his three overs.
In reply, the visitors got off to a terrific start as the duo of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy added 72 runs for the opening wickets in just 8 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal broke the partnership by removing Buttler for 24-ball 28.
Even though Washington Sundar dismissed Roy for 32-ball 49 in the 12th over, England didn’t have any issue in accumulating the remaining runs.
The pair of Dawid Malan (24* off 20 balls) and Jonny Bairstow (26* off 17 balls) shared an unbeaten 41-run stand to take England over the line with 8 wickets in hand and 27 balls to spare.
Cricket experts lauded England for their clinical performance in the T20I series opener while they were critical of India’s dismal show.
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