India vs England, 1st T20I: India romps home by eight wickets

Kuldeep Yadav spun a web around the England batsmen before K.L. Rahul notched up a breathtaking hundred as India beat England by eight wickets in the first T20I.

Published : Jul 04, 2018 01:28 IST , Manchester

K.L. Rahul flexed his muscles with the bat.
K.L. Rahul flexed his muscles with the bat.
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K.L. Rahul flexed his muscles with the bat.

K.L. Rahul struck a magnificent 100 as India made light work of England's 159, chasing down the target with eight wickets to spare in the first T20I at Manchester on Tuesday.

Chasing 160 to win, Shikhar Dhawan fell cheaply; the Delhi southpaw falling to a searing outswinger from David Willey. Dhawan's dismissal, however, was the only silver lining for the host as Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul, batting at No. 3, took England bowlers to the cleaners.

Rahul 's knock of 101 off 54 balls was peppered with 10 boundaries and five sixes as the Virat Kohli-led side got India's campaign off to a winning start.

Liam Plunkett was the most expensive of all England bowlers, conceding 42 off his four overs.

Kuldeep spins a web

Earlier, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav left the English batsmen in a daze with his magical spell of wrist spin, restricting them to a manageable 159 for 8 in the opening T20 International, here this evening.

Skipper Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl was vindicated by young Kuldeep, who broke the backbone of the England batting, with his career-best figures of 5 for 24 in 4 overs.

This was after a solid start provided by in-form openers Jos Buttler (69 off 45 balls) and Jason Roy (30 off 20 balls), who added 50 in the first five overs of Powerplay.

However from a relatively comfortable 95 for 1 in the 12th over, Kuldeep removed rival skipper Eoin Morgan (7), Jonny Bairstow (0) and Joe Root (0) in the 14th over, thwarting England from posting a competitive total on a placid track.

That England lacked homework while facing Kuldeep was evident with the likes of Bairstow and Root being left in a tangle. They were both deceived by flight and failed to read the turn off the pitch, getting out off successive deliveries.

Kuldeep’s effort was even more praiseworthy considering that his fellow left-arm spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (0/34 in 4 overs) had an off-day. So did Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/44 in 4 overs), who had a rare off day in office.

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