India v England, 2016-17
Wisden's review of the first Twenty20 International, India v England, 2016-17
John Stern
15-Apr-2017
At Kanpur, January 26, 2017 (floodlit). England won by seven wickets. Toss: England. Twenty20 international debut: Parvez Rasool.
As at Eden Gardens, England found conditions to their liking at Green Park, where pace and uneven bounce helped their muscular seam attack keep India's batsmen on a tight leash. Their batsmen then strolled home with 11 balls to spare. It was, according to Morgan, "as complete a performance as we've produced on this trip". Tymal Mills won his second cap, took his first international wicket and pushed 93mph - but it was his back-of-the-hand slower ball that drew praise from Kohli. With Dhoni looking to hit out at the death, Mills's variations limited him to eight runs from the seven deliveries he sent down to him. England's most miserly bowling, though, came from Ali, who removed Kohli for 29 via a sharp catch from Morgan at midwicket. The chase began brazenly, with 42 coming from the first 19 balls, and stalled only briefly, when Roy and Billings were both bowled in the same over by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Raina had hit India's solitary six, but England managed seven, including four from Morgan in a powerful fifty. He added 83 in 11.3 overs for the third wicket with Root, whose unbeaten 46 meant this was the first match of the Indian tour in which he failed to score a half-century.
Man of the Match: M. M. Ali.
As at Eden Gardens, England found conditions to their liking at Green Park, where pace and uneven bounce helped their muscular seam attack keep India's batsmen on a tight leash. Their batsmen then strolled home with 11 balls to spare. It was, according to Morgan, "as complete a performance as we've produced on this trip". Tymal Mills won his second cap, took his first international wicket and pushed 93mph - but it was his back-of-the-hand slower ball that drew praise from Kohli. With Dhoni looking to hit out at the death, Mills's variations limited him to eight runs from the seven deliveries he sent down to him. England's most miserly bowling, though, came from Ali, who removed Kohli for 29 via a sharp catch from Morgan at midwicket. The chase began brazenly, with 42 coming from the first 19 balls, and stalled only briefly, when Roy and Billings were both bowled in the same over by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Raina had hit India's solitary six, but England managed seven, including four from Morgan in a powerful fifty. He added 83 in 11.3 overs for the third wicket with Root, whose unbeaten 46 meant this was the first match of the Indian tour in which he failed to score a half-century.
Man of the Match: M. M. Ali.