Tilak Varma guides India to victory in 2nd T20I against England

India have extended their lead to 2-0 against England in their five-match T20I series thanks to a two-wicket victory on Saturday in Chennai.

The win was spearheaded by a brilliant 72 runs not-out from just 55 balls by fringe player Tilak Varma, who helped India chase down England’s total of 165/9 with just four balls to spare.

Captain Jos Buttler again carried the English batting order as he made 45 from 30, receiving scant support from the rest of his team.

Only Jamie Smith (22 from 12) and Brydon Carse (31 from 17) made meaningful contributions as regular wickets meant the visitors spluttered through to a sub-par total.

The challenging batting conditions in Chennai meant that it was a competitive match, however, as England managed to bag two of India’s batsmen inside the first three overs.

With Sanju Samson (5 from 7) and Abhishek Sharma (12 from 6) back in the sheds, Varma took the initiative to keep India’s chase moving forward.

Suryakumar Yadav (12 from 7), Dhruv Jurel (4 from 5) and Hardik Pandya (7 from 6) also came and went quickly, and it was not until Washington Sundar (26 from 19) came to the crease that India began to get ascendancy.

The pair put on 48 runs for the sixth wicket, taking India to within 50 runs of the target.

Alongside the bowlers, Varma worked the strike brilliantly to steer his team home, striking a boundary from the second ball of the final over to hand India the win.

“A little bit of relief,” Indian captain Yadav said afterwards.

“The way the game was going, we felt 160 was good, but the way they bowled, good that the game went down to the wire.

“The chat was to play like the last game.

“Good to see we are playing aggressive brand of cricket, at the same time, guys put their hands up and stitched the small partnerships.

“Very happy with the way Tilak batted, something to learn for everyone. Good to see someone take responsibility.

“The boys have taken off a lot of pressure, the atmosphere in the dressing room is light.

“There will be days it won’t come off, but we know what we want to do.

“If we are on the same page, good things will take place.”

T20 bookmakers had India as favourites heading into the match, and now further shorten their odds ahead of the third T20I between the two sides on Tuesday in Rajkot.

Marantelli Bet is paying just $1.40 for an Indian victory, which would seal their series victory.

Given the 2-0 deficit, Marantelli Bet is offering a long $19 for England to execute a reverse sweep and win the series.

England’s captain Buttler is confident his side have what it takes though, based on what he saw in Saturday’s match.

“Great game, really exciting end,” he said.

“We created a lot of chances, really pushed them close.

“Really pleased the way we went about with the bat. There was the aggression we asked for, nearly a defendable score.

“We will improve on it all but happy with the style.

“They are going to play three spinners, so they are going to take wickets. If we take them for runs, I am happy.”

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