Opener KL Rahul’s breezy 71 took India to 144/8 after they were put in to bat in the second Twenty20 International against England in Nagpur on Sunday.
Rahul took a backseat at the beginning with Virat Kohli hitting one fantastic six but was forced to take charge of the situation after the wickets started to fall. Kohli mishit a slower ball from Chris Jordan and holed out for 21. Left-handers Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh hardly got going with Raina holing out off the slog-sweep to Adil Rashid and Yuvraj Singh dismissed leg-before-wicket to Moeen Ali.
Rahul who was 26 off 21 then when Raina was dismissed, went big, slamming Rashid for six over mid-wicket and then Liam Dawson straight back. He hit Rashid for two boundaries after getting his fifty as the partnership between him and Manish Pandey also crossed the fifty-run mark.
Unfortunately, Pandey could not get his timing correct and in an effort to force the pace, Rahul also holed out for a 47-ball 71, giving Ben Stokes a flat catch at deep mid-wicket off Chris Jordan. That brought MS Dhoni out to the middle and Pandey desperately hit a fine six off Tymal Mills in the 19th over before being dismissed two balls later.
India only managed to get five runs and lost three wickets in the last over as England went back to the dressing room on a high.
Brief scores:
India 144/8 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 71, Manish Pandey 30; Chris Jordan 3/22, Moeen Ali 1/20)
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