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In front of a jam-packed crowd at the Chepauk, England tearaway Jofra Archer conceded his most expensive spell in all T20s as the visitors succumbed to a 2-wicket defeat in the second match of the series.
After dazzling in Kolkata with his searing pace, it wasn't the most fruitful outing for Archer when the T20I action shifted to Chennai. In his four-over spell, Jofra gave away a whopping 60 runs and had a sole scalp to show for it at the end of his four overs. This (1/60) was the most expensive spell for Archer since his debut in the format. Jofra was handed the ball to set the tone of defending their modest 165-run total. After reading the track and picking his lines and lengths, Archer tried to make early inroads. It was India's last match hero, Abhishek Sharma, who started bashing away Archer for fun. With his fearlessness, Abhishek took the aerial route to find the first boundary of the second innings. Shades of explosive Chris Gayle were visible for Abhishek's second boundary when he created room for himself and slapped the ball over the cover fielder. With runs coming in at a brisk pace, Archer decided to rely on his searing pace to close out the opening over on a high note. He clocked 149.5 kph and banged in short, only to see Abhishek lift the ball over the short third region for the third four in his first over. After conceding 13 runs in his opening over, Archer tried to recover in his second. He tested Sanju Samson and hit the right nerve to pick his sole scalp of the game. He pitched his ball short and exposed Sanju's Achilles heel to get the breakthrough. But Indian skipper Suyakumar Yadav stole Archer's momentum with back-to-back deliveries to accumulate 11 runs in the 29-year-old's second over. He returned to bowl the penultimate over of the powerplay, but the nightmare continued for Archer. It started with match-winner Tilak Varma smashing the ball away for four. On the next delivery, Archer relied on his pace, clocking 150.3 kph to bounce back. The southpaw stayed in line for the ball and effortlessly smoking the ball for a six. A ball later, he pulled away a short ball for the second six of the over, accumulating 17 runs in Archer's third over. After giving away 41 runs in his third over, England skipper Jos Buttler held Archer back till the climax. Archer returned in the 16th over and delivered arguably the decisive moment of the game. With Tilak in front of him, Archer saw a top edge sail over the boundary line for a six. On the next ball, Archer bowled too short, allowing Tilak to open his arms and slash it over deep backward point for a flat six. Arshdeep Singh rubbed salt on Archer's exposed wounds by picking a thick inside edge to send the ball racing away for a four. With a double on the final over, Archer conceded 19 runs in his final over, ending his four-over spell with 60 runs. (ANI)
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