England Beats India in 2nd T20

Captain Morgan wins thriller for England

	Six-hitting from Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler carried England to victory at the death © BCCI Enlarge

They don't come as smooth as Captain Morgan. As MS Dhoni and his senior associates debated the field for the final delivery of the chase, off which England needed three to win, Eoin Morgan was calm, had a word with his partner and then waited. Jos Buttler had tried to be cheeky and didn't succeed the previous ball, but Morgan put an end to the game in the only way an expectant crowd sensing victory could have been silenced in disbelief - a deathly blow over the sightscreen when there seemed to be enough room in the field to squeeze a couple and take the game to a Super Over.

With a Test series won and a T20 series drawn, England rounded off their first leg of this tour of India on a happy note. The victory was also their highest successful chase in T20 internationals.

Ashok Dinda, who bowled that last over, had tried hard to get his yorkers on target, with nine needed. The first five deliveries yielded just six runs, thanks to some good outfielding, even though Dinda didn't quite find his mark each time. When Buttler first shaped up for a scoop off the penultimate ball before trying to guide it past Dhoni's right, only to miss it and steal a bye, it seemed his more enterprising instincts may have backfired. But it brought Morgan on strike, and when Dinda overpitched, he launched him straight over his head, dispatching the ball above the press box, 92 metres into the stands.

Smart stats The target of 181 is the highest ever chased by England in Twenty20 internationals surpassing the 173 they chased against West Indies earlier this year. It is also the highest target chased in Twenty20 matches against India. It is the eighth time overall (second time for England) that a team has completed a chase off the last ball of the innings. The previous time for England was against Australia in Adelaide in 2011. Morgan's 49 is his fifth-highest score in Twenty20 internationals and equals his highest against India. The strike rate of 188.46 is his third-highest for a 30-plus score in Twenty20 internationals. Yuvraj Singh's 3 for 17 is his best bowling performance for India in Twenty20 matches. It is also the second-best performance for India against England after Harbhajan Singh's 4 for 12 in Colombo earlier this year. Yuvraj's economy rate in the series (4.50) is the second-best for India in a bilateral Twenty20 series of two or more matches (min eight overs bowled). The best is Harbhajan Singh's 4.25 against New Zealand in 2008-09. Only Sunil Narine has picked up more wickets (7) than Yuvraj (6) in a Twenty20 bilateral series of two matches. While Yuvraj conceded just 17, the four other bowlers went for 164 runs in 16 overs. The economy rate of the pace bowlers (10.75) is the third-highest for India in an innings (min eight overs bowled). The 80-run stand between Adam Hales and Michael Lumb is the third-highest opening stand for England in Twenty20 matches and their highest against India.

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Butler's contribution, too, was significant. He joined Morgan with England needing 29 off 13, and the partnership kicked off with Morgan immediately pulling Dinda for six over deep midwicket. Up against the inexperienced Parvinder Awana in the penultimate over, Buttler drove a low full toss through extra cover before hammering the bowler for a flat, straight six off the final ball to bring it down to nine off six. And Morgan completed the job.

Yuvraj Singh produced another excellent spell, picking up three wickets and conceding just 17 from his four overs, helping India recover from an opening partnership that threatened to take the game away from them. Michael Lumb produced his best performance in England colours, timing the ball superbly and showing plenty of intent, combining power play with some adept footwork that fetched him a lovely, straight six off R Ashwin. Lumb helped score 62 off the Powerplay and added 80 in 50 balls with Alex Hales, who impressed again with another productive hand.

Lumb's stumping, Luke Wright's lbw and Hales - who was dropped by Awana on 7 - holing out, all to Yuvraj, put the pressure back on England before Morgan and Buttler turned the tables. India had done the same in their innings towards the death, smashing 63 in the last five overs thanks to Suresh Raina and Dhoni stepping up, but England were outstanding in their groundfielding.

They threw themselves around in the outfield, the fast bowlers included, cutting off boundaries, often restricting the hosts, despite their good running between wickets, to twos. Though Raina and Dhoni's late assault threatened to undermine that, the runs saved by England, which kept India to a challenging but gettable 177, played an influential role in the outcome. India put down two chances - Piyush Chawla let off Samit Patel when was yet to score - and there was a fumble that cost four runs from the first ball of England's chase. In a game decided on the last ball, each lapse or incidence of brilliance had a magnified impact. 

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