IND vs ENG: Tilak, Bishnoi ace the test in 2nd T20 but Jurel fails to make his opportunity count

Tilak Varma played a magnificent and nerveless individual hand to ensure India scraped past England in a final-over thriller in the second T20 in Chennai on Saturday. With this victory, India have taken a 2-0 lead in the five-game series and need only one more win to notch up another T20 series win under Suryakumar Yadav’s stewardship.

Earlier in the evening, India opted to bowl first and were immediately vindicated, with Arshdeep Singh getting rid of Phil Salt. Jos Buttler counter-attacked but India kept picking wickets throughout to reduce the visitors to 90-5.

Brydon Carse and Jamie Smith then played enterprising cameos, which coupled with Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer’s efforts, meant England crossed 160. It was not enough in the end, but gave them a lot more to play with than in Kolkata.

More from First Cricket News

'They have said goodbye to the wrong format': Ex-India cricketer's bold take on Rohit, Virat Test retirement 'Pakistan’s stance is outstanding': Sarfaraz Ahmed supports PCB’s decision to skip India for Asia Cup 2025

Here is how the Indian players fared:

Aced the test: Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi

A left-hander walking out at number three at Chepauk, soaking all the pressure, showcasing his entire repertoire of silky strokes and ultimately, sealing a win for his side – sounds familiar, eh?

For years, this is what Suresh Raina did for the Chennai Super Kings. And on Saturday, Tilak channeled that spirit, sprinkled his personal shade of magic and played the innings of his dreams.  An innings that people at Chepauk will gush about, reminiscing in years to come that they were there to witness it in the flesh.

Tilak’s talent, of course, was not in doubt heading into the second T20I. Just months ago, he had smashed two T20I tons away to South Africa and had made batting ridiculously easy. What shone through on Saturday, though, was his temperament.

Impact Shorts

View All

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

Nothing seemed to faze him and when the game moved at a million miles per hour, he afforded himself time. The time to think and the time to just stay put and remain calm, while chaos ensued around him. Not many people are able to do that. Not many cricketers 22 T20Is into their career should be able to do this. Tilak Varma did. And it felt like he has been doing this for years.

He found support at just the right time too. Bishnoi, who had earlier bowled four tight overs (which went for 27), mustered two boundaries out of nothing. Materialistically, it meant India needed eight less, but it also gave Tilak the confidence that he will not run out of partners, and offered validation to Bishnoi questioning why batters should have all the fun (tongue-in-cheek, obviously).

Sundar, on the other hand, came into the side because of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s injury. He bowled an over more than Nitish did in Kolkata and accounted for Duckett – a vital scalp to halt England’s early momentum.

His bigger contribution, though, was with the bat. He would be gutted he could not finish the job but his 26 off 19, while coming in at 78-5, was invaluable. It allowed India to stay in touch with the required run-rate and gave Tilak the freedom to mastermind the chase the way he wanted.

Partially met expectations: Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy

Abhishek started like a house on fire. He cracked Archer for three boundaries in the first over and seemed primed to produce a rendition of the Kolkata carnage. But then, in a flash, it was over.

Such days will come, especially with the risks he takes. Thankfully for India, he has shown he can be a match-winner on his own, and that he can contribute in more than one facet, like he did in Chennai, dismissing the dangerous-looking Smith.

Arshdeep and Chakravarthy, akin to Abhishek, could not scale the heights they did a couple of days ago and were uncharacteristically expensive. But both of them did get on the board – the former bagging Salt; the latter bamboozling Harry Brook and Jamie Overton. That said, Arshdeep would not want to look back on his wild slog with the bat.

Axar and Hardik, both of whom carry greater batting responsibilities than Arshdeep, also flattered to deceive. They had a chance to forge a partnership with Tilak and guide their team home, but failed, much to the frustration of those watching.

They were tidy with the ball, however. Axar removing Buttler and Livingstone was pivotal in restricting England, while Hardik only gave away six runs in his two overs – a significant and much-needed turnaround from his numbers the other day.

Did not meet expectations: Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel

It is tough going into the furnace from the cold storage, and that is exactly what Jurel had to do, having not played for India at all in Australia and then sitting out in Kolkata, only to be drafted in as Rinku Singh’s replacement in Chennai.

And while it may seem harsh to slot him into this bracket, he had the opportunity to put his name up in lights and demand that he deserves more than just a bit-part role – neither of which he could accomplish.

As for Samson, well, it was one of those days when it did not quite click. Slightly more worrying was that England seemed to have a plan to tie him down by attacking his body and denying him room. This could easily be a one-off but the onus is now on Samson to prove that it indeed is.

Which brings us to Suryakumar Yadav. Since taking over as full-time T20I captain, his side has made people wonder what is indeed possible in 20 overs of batting. His form, though, has tapered off. He currently averages 22 in that period and that has spilled over into this series so far.

The good thing, from an Indian point-of-view, is that the intent is still there and if the three boundaries he struck in Chennai were any indication, a big knock, filled with superlative-inducing Suryakumar strokes, might not be very far away, even if that breaking-of-the-shackles did not happen on Saturday.