India vs England: Pandya’s all-round show, India’s powerplay brilliance, and other talking points from the first T20I

Hardik Pandya was as clinical as an all-rounder can be in the first T20I between India and England as the visitors got off to a positive start in the three-match series.

India, batting first, posted a target of 199 for the hosts. England succumbed to the scoreboard pressure and lost wickets too frequently while trying to after the bowlers.

India’s winning run continued under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy as the 'Hitman' became the first captain to have 13 consecutive wins under his belt. Rohit also has an astonishing winning percentage of 86.20 percent in the 29 T20Is he has led so far.

India had a near-perfect outing at the Rose Bowl, except for a few dropped catches that would get hidden under the veil as they clinched a 50-run victory.

Here are some of the talking points from the match:

Hardik Pandya’s all-round performance

The Indian all-rounder was clearly the star in the first T20I on Thursday as he scored a brisk half-century (51 of 33 balls) and ended up with figures of 4/33 in his four-over spell. Pandya became the first Indian to achieve the dual feat of a half-century and a four-wicket haul in T20Is. He also became the fifth player overall to do so amongst the full-time ICC members.

Pandya came in at the score of 89/3 in the ninth over. India had lost three wickets quite early but they were scoring at 10 runs per over which balanced the scorecard. Pandya continued the scoring momentum and hit boundaries at will. The all-rounder has carried his red-hot IPL form over to the international arena and these are very good signs for India going into the T20 World Cup in a few months’ time. Pandya also bagged the Player of the Match award for his record-breaking performance.

Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav’s firepower

While Deepak Hooda picked up from where he left off in the Ireland series, Suryakumar Yadav seemed to have found his rhythm back as the two took on the bowlers and smashed them all around the park. Despite an aggressive start by skipper Rohit Sharma with the bat, Moeen Ali sent both the openers back to the dugout in the power play itself. The duo made a partnership of 43 runs in just 23 balls at a strike rate of 186.96.

Individually both the batters crossed the 30-run mark before getting out to Chris Jordan. Hooda scored 33 at a strike rate of 194.12 whereas Suryakumar was a touch better, scoring 39 at a strike rate of 205.26. The duo set the tone for India’s total to cross the 200-run milestone.

England’s death bowling

India were going strong with the bat and at one stage, a total of more than 200 seemed quite comfortable. However, England were brilliant in the death overs as they took four wickets and more importantly allowed only 33 runs in the last four overs, in contrast to India scoring at more than 10 runs per over throughout their innings.

Captain Jos Buttler used four different bowlers in the last four overs, including spinner Matthew Parkinson bowling the 17th over, and changed the momentum of the match.

India on the other hand had a rare off day while finishing the innings, despite having Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya at the crease.

India in the bowling power play

Indian batters were excellent in the batting power play, and the bowlers mirrored their performance at the start of England’s innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar disturbed the in-form Buttler’s stumps for a golden duck with a peach of a delivery in the first over. Debutant Arshdeep Singh then started his T20I career with a maiden over as Jason Roy struggled to connect his bat with the ball.

An absolute peach from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. pic.twitter.com/OOq16tA4tl

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 7, 2022

Hardik Pandya came into the attack in the fifth over and immediately bagged two wickets in the same over. Pandya seemed to have a Midas touch on Thursday and could do nothing wrong. Bhuvi finished with figures of 1/10 in three overs inside the power play and England were left in tatters at 32/3 after six overs. India had sealed half the match there itself.

Jason Roy’s struggle with the bat

England’s otherwise swashbuckling opener Jason Roy had a forgettable outing with the bat as he could never get going with the runs. Roy who has a career strike rate of 141.6, could score only four runs of 16 balls. Roy struggled against the likes of Bhuvi and Arshdeep in the power play and gave away his wicket on the first ball legal delivery after the power play ended, as he edged a short ball to the third man fielder.

India’s sloppy fielding and wicket-keeping

India had a near-perfect outing right from the time Rohit won the toss and opted to bat first. However, something they would have disliked is the multiple dropped catches which Rohit also admitted at the post-match presentation. Yadav dropped Moeen of Yuzvendra Chahal’s bowling. A few overs later Chahal himself dropped a caught and bowled opportunity when Chris Jordan brutally hit straight back at the bowler. In the same over Hooda dropped a regulation catch at long-off.

Quite similarly, behind the stumps, Karthik dropped two catches. He first dropped a top edge running towards the short fine leg region in the eighth over of Harshal Patel’s bowling. He subsequently dropped Jordan of Pandya’s bowling when the former edged one short of a length delivery.

DK also almost missed a stumping chance of Moeen as he fumbled to gather the ball in the first instance. But he was prompt to collect the ball and knock the stumps as Ali was way outside the crease.

The dropped catches might hide behind the veil as India had a dominating victory. But they might prove costly on another day. Also with DK not having a great day behind the stumps, the debate of him replacing Rishabh Pant in the playing XI will also lose its weight.

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