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India's bowling unit delivered a clinical performance to restrict England to a modest total of 165/9 in the second T20I of the five-match series in Chennai on Saturday. After winning the toss, India opted to bowl first.
England's innings got off to a shaky start as Phil Salt was dismissed for just 4 by Arshdeep Singh. His opening partner, Ben Duckett, followed soon after, managing only 3 runs before falling to Washington Sundar. Despite the early setbacks, the visitors reached 50 in 5.1 overs, thanks to skipper Jos Buttler's counterattacking knock. However, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Harry Brook, after a brief stay at the crease, was cleaned up by Varun Chakravarthy for 13, leaving England in further trouble. Buttler, in fine form, smashed 45 off 30 deliveries with two boundaries and three sixes. However, his innings came to an end when Axar Patel dismissed him, reducing England to 77/4 in 9.3 overs. Liam Livingstone, another key player, could not make an impact, contributing just 13 runs before falling to Patel. At 90/5, England were in dire straits. Jamie Smith showed some resilience, scoring 22 runs, but his stay was cut short by Abhishek Sharma. England then stumbled to 104/6. Varun Chakravarthy, playing his first international match at home, made further inroads by dismissing Jamie Overton for 5, claiming his second wicket of the game. Brydon Carse provided a late flourish for England with a quickfire 31 off 17 balls, but his innings was ended by a run-out. Adil Rashid (10) was the final wicket to fall, dismissed by Hardik Pandya, as England could only manage 165/9 in their allotted 20 overs. India's bowlers were impressive across the board. Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy were the standout performers, picking up two wickets each, while Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, and Abhishek Sharma chipped in with one wicket apiece. India needs 166 runs to win and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. (ANI)
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