Tilak Varma was the hero of India;'s win in Chennai (Source: AP Photos)
The second T20I between India and England in Chennai turned out to be quite a thrilling encounter with India crossing the line in the final over. It was Tilak Varma who stole the show with an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls in a tense run-chase and made sure that India go 2-0 up in the five-match T20I series.
The momentum kept swinging from one team to another throughout the course of the game, and though India were ahead of the game, England managed to fight and put pressure on the home team. However, every game has some crucial moments that play a defining role in the result of the game and let's see what were the three game-changing moments of the second T20I.
1. Bowling First Allowing Indian Team To Analyze Conditions
One of the crucial factors in India's win was the captain Suryakumar Yadav winning the toss and bowling first. It allowed the Indian team to analyze the conditions and rather than forcing themselves to play aggressively, they could pace the innings in the second half and win the game.
It was also crucial because Chepauk is known to assist spinners, but it also can be flat in T20 cricket and so chasing is a handy option to gauge the conditions. England, on the other hand, rather than taking the conditions into account, kept going for shots and it backfired on a two-paced wicket.
2. Buttler Not Trusting His Second Spinner Enough
England are known to be a team that rely on pacers, but when you are playing in Indian conditions, it is important to be flexible and trust your spinners as well. It is where Jos Buttler miss the beat in this game. The visitors got three wickets in the powerplay which were all taken by pacers, but they were expensive too as India scored 59 runs in the initial six overs.
Adil Rashid was brought into the attack after Powerplay and he turned out to be their most economical bowler with just 14 runs in four overs and one wicket. However, Buttler continued with pacer and by the time Livingstone came into the attack in the 15th over, India needed 47 off 36 balls. Livingstone got the wicket of Axar as well in his first over but was then again removed from the attack and bowled a penultimate over which went for just seven.
Overall, looking at his performance and of other spinners in the game, it seems that Buttler and England would have benefitted from bringing Livingstone into the attack a bit early in the match.
3. Tilak Varma Changing Gears After Loss Of Wickets
Tilak Varma has been in great form in recent times and came out all guns blazing in this game too. He smashed two sixes and one four in a single over against Jofra Archer and then hit Brydon Carse for another six in the next over. However, Suryakumar Yadav departed in the same over and Tilak Varma brought down his gear, making sure that he holds one end up.
The target was not much, and so just timely boundaries were enough to keep India up with the required rate, and even though India were reduced to 126-7 at one point in time, Tilak Varma's presence helped India. He kept finding boundaries whenever the team needed and it was a run-chase masterclass that would make MS Dhoni proud as he hit the boundary in the final over and finished with unbeaten 72 off 55 balls.