Ind vs Eng 2nd T20 : How can India make a strong comeback in the second T20?

First T20 between India and England did not go as well as expected. Everyone hoped that India would win the first T20 as the match was being played in India and India already had acclimation with pitches. India’s morale was on peak after they won the test against England. 

Indian cricket team appeared to be strong both on the batting and bowling front. Despite having so many advantages, what went wrong with India which caused such a humiliating defeat against England?  

England players were destructive and focused from the start and they were determined to win the match but the same passion and enthusiasm was not visible among the Indian players.

With such an underperformance, question marks are being raised as to how India will sail through the rest of the four matches? Will India be able to make a comeback in the second T20?  There are areas where India needs to work diligently to turn around the fortune of the game. 

When Indian players came on the field, they were sent back one after another to the pavilion. They appeared to be wanting and sluggish. The opening partnership between Shikhar dhawan and KL rahul could not work well. The onus was on Virat kohli to stay firm but he too got out on duck. Shreyas Iyer was the sole warrier who managed to give the face-saving target to England which was still below par score. 

When they should have brought in fast bowlers, mostly spinners bowled who were beaten badly by the English batsmen. Even Indian fielders were slow to grab the ball. 

If India wants to make a strong comeback, India needs to focus on building up the strong partnership that is crucial for reducing the burden on the middle order batsmen who can play more freely.

India has to come up with a well-thought strategy to give England above par target if India gets to play first. India needs to induct 2-3 players to compensate for the drawback of already present players. Narendra Modi stadium is a fast paced stadium which is favorable to fast bowlers but India failed to have significant fast bowlers who can rescue the team when it needs them the most. 

Indian players need to become familiar with the nature of pitch so that they can get comfortable playing this game. As Virat Kohli himself made a statement during that post match conference we were not aware enough about what to do on the pitch. 

“We just weren’t aware enough about what we had to do on that pitch; lack of execution on our shots is something we have to address as batsmen. Accept your faults, come back with more intent, clarity of plans on the areas you want to hit. It was a strange kind of a start for us. Wicket didn’t allow you to hit the shots we wanted to. Shreyas showed how to use the depth of the crease and ride the bounce because there was variable bounce on that pitch. It was just a below-par batting performance, and England made us pay for it,” said Virat Kohli.”

Apart from that, they need to come back strongly both on bowling and batting front to change the fortune of the game.

In the first T20 match, India faced a defeat of 124-7 against England.