mango win IND Vs ENG 2nd T20I: India Clinch 2-Wicket Win As Tilak Varma Steals Show In Nail-Biting Finish

Tilak Varma celebrates as India beat England by 2 wickets in 2nd T20I match on Saturday.Photo: X | BCCITilak Varma celebrates as India beat England by 2 wickets in 2nd T20I match on Saturday.Photo: X | BCCI

India secured a stunning 2-wicket victory over England in the second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, January 25 taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. (Match Highlights | Full Coverage)

England, after being put in to set a target, posted a modest total of 165/9 in 20 overs.

The English batting struggled throughout, with wickets falling at regular intervals. Only Jos Buttler (45) and Jofra Archer (12) offered any real resistance, while Brydon Carse (31) and Adil Rashid (10) played small but valuable cameos.

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The top order crumbled under the pressure from Indian bowlers, with Arshdeep Singh (1/40), Axar Patel (2/32), and Varun Chakravarthy (2/38) picking crucial wickets.

Now chasing the not-so challenging target, India faced a difficult task, with wickets falling quickly.

Openers Sanju Samson (5) and Abhishek Sharma (12) both fell cheaply, but a crucial partnership between the in-form Tilak Varma (72) and Suryakumar Yadav (12) steadied the ship.

From 58 for three, the English pacers crashed through that creek to bag the wickets of Dhruv Jurel and Hardik Pandya to reduce India to 78 for five.

But Washington Sundar, who was dropped on 10 by Adil Rashid at mid-on off Wood, cashed in on that reprieve, hammering the Durham man for a six and two fours in succession to bring down the mounting asking rate.

However, Washington's attempt to run a 140 kmph thunderbolt from Carse to the third man saw the ball crashing onto his stumps.

India were 116 for six then. But they found a willing soldier in Tilak.

Varma,ph222 games who was the standout performer of the innings, played a mature knock under pressure, holding the fort for India as wickets fell at the other end.

It was a mini classic because the left-hander hardly had constant support from the other end and the England bowlers were cock-a-hoop lot after making serious inroads.

While England fought back with some brilliant bowling performances from Jofra Archer (1/60), Mark Wood (1/28), and Brydon Carse (3/29), it was Varma’s resilience that ultimately saw India home.

Despite some nervy moments, where Hardik Pandya (7) and Axar Patel (2) fell cheaply, Varma held his ground with 4 fours and 5 sixes chasing the tagret in a nail-biting finish with just 6 runs needed from the last over.

Ravi Bishnoi (9) provided excellent support, as India reached 166/8 in 19.2 overs, securing the 2-wicket victory.

The highlight of the England innings was the dismissal of Harry Brook, who began well, smashing a six off spinner Varun Chakravarthy (2/38).

But soon a back of the hand delivery breached Brook's defence to rattle his off-stump, as the English right-hander could not read it despite Chennai not having any smog.

A couple of beefy blows by lower-order batters helped England go past the 150-run mark but that was not enough.

India then beat Korea 3-1 before eking out a narrow 2-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan.

Now, on january 28, Tuesday, India and England will clash against each other for the third T20I match at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot.

(With PTI inputs)mango win