India vs England 2nd T20I: Jadeja's match-winning knock, Gleeson's impressive debut and other talking points

India overpowered England by 49 runs to win the second Twenty20 international at Edgbaston on Saturday as they took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

England, set 171 for victory, were dismissed for 121 in 17 overs, with India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking 3-15.

Earlier, India made 170-8 after being sent into bat.

England debutant paceman Richard Gleeson removed all of India's top three on his way to 3-15 after the tourists had been 49 without loss.

Chris Jordan followed up with 4-27 but Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 46 kept India in the game.

Only Moeen Ali (35) and David Willey (33*) showed some intent with the bat as England folded for a total of 121.

Here are five talking points from the second T20I at Edgbaston:

Richard Gleeson leaves a mark

Not every day you get to take wickets of three of India’s most dangerous players with the bat. Not every day you get to take wickets of both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the same match. Well, 34-year-old England debutant Richard Gleeson did exactly that. He impressed one and all with his spectacular bowling, removing Rohit, Virat and Rishabh Pant inside four deliveries he bowled. In the fifth ball of the fifth over, Gleeson unleashed a short ball, which persuaded Rohit to go for the pull. Rohit eventually got the top-edge, and Buttler running backwards, sealed the catch without much fuss.

Gleeson’s next man was Virat Kohli in the first ball of the sixth over. Kohli looked to take Gleeson on, but got a top-edge that flew over to backward point. Dawid Malan was slotted inside the ring but sprinted back to take a good catch.

Gleeson once again struck in the very next ball, removing Rishabh Pant. Pant looked to hit the length ball through the leg side, but all he could do was get a thick inside edge to the hands of the wicketkeeper.

Although the England batters disappointed, Gleeson’s performance with the ball was certainly a silver lining.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar strikes first ball

Most of the credit for India’s display with the ball on Saturday must go to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. First ball, first strike: That was Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s motto in the second T20I. England were required to chase down a target of 171, and Jason Roy took strike first ball. Length ball from Bhuvneshwar, there was a very small hint at away movement, Jason Roy got a thick edge, eventually being caught at slip by Rohit.

This was not the first time that Bhuvneshwar had inflicted a golden duck in this series though. In the first T20I, skipper Jos Buttler was cleaned up while facing his first ball, against Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bhuvneshwar would go on to take the wickets of Buttler (again) and Richard Gleeson in the second T20I.

New opening partnership

Skipper Rohit and Rishabh Pant, not Virat Kohli, opened the innings for India after having been put to bat.

Former England captain Eoin Morgan had recently lauded India’s aggressive approach in T20Is that had lacked at the T20 World Cup last year, and Rohit and Pant followed that exact aggressive template.

The two forged 49 runs within just five overs, but that rhythm was broken when Richard Gleeson removed Rohit.

Rohit, in fact, got a reprieve when he was dropped at point by Jason Roy. The Indian skipper, though, would go on to make 31 off 20 while Pant scored 26 off 15 balls.

The duo’s partnership built the momentum for India’s challenging total, but it wasn’t without miscued shots, that included a miscued six over long-off from Rohit in the third over.

Yet, it set a platform for Team India to post a total of 170 on board, thanks to Ravindra Jadeja’s heroics later on.

Jadeja’s unbeaten 46 saves the day

India were 49/0 at one stage, but a flurry of wickets restricted them to 89/5 in the 11^th over. In came Ravindra Jadeja, to save India’s day.

Jadeja helped India get to the 100-run mark with a boundary in the 13^th over, where a total of 170 still seemed distant, but then followed it up with four more fours, including two from the last two overs.

Jadeja scored 24 runs from the last five overs, with a total of 53 runs coming in this phase. Jadeja forged a 33-run stand with Dinesh Karthik before the latter was dismissed, but Harshal Patel (13 off 6) too played a cameo in supporting Jadeja, whose 46* eventually just came in 29 balls.

Virat Kohli’s lacklustre form continues

For a long time now, Virat Kohli’s inconsistency with the bat has been the talk of the town in the Indian camp. World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev recently felt that Kohli could be dropped from the T20I squad, a statement which Kohli’s coach Rajkumar Sharma has since disagreed with.

However, Kohli has not been at his aggressive best on a consistent basis for a long time now, and that was once again shown in the second T20I against England.

All Kohli could manage was just a single, before falling victim to debutant Richard Gleeson.

What’s more worrying is that Kohli has just managed 138 runs from eight T20Is in the last 12 months at an average of 27.60.

Kohli has also now gone 76 innings without an international century, his last ton coming in November 2019 against Bangladesh.

Kohli may not have scored an international century for almost three years now, but his inconsistency with the bat might be a worrying sign for Team India, and with the T20I World Cup slated for later this year, Kohli will have to make his every opportunity count.

With inputs from AFP 

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