England defeat India by eight wickets in T20I series opener

Indian batsmen had little to offer in the face of a regimented English bowling effort on a two-paced track as the hosts received an eight-wicket hammering in the opening T20I in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Indian batsmen struggled to score freely before Shreyas Iyer showed the way with a dogged 67-run knock that took Virat Kohli’s men to 124 for seven at the Narendra Modi stadium.

The home team could only manage 124 and in the absence of scoreboard pressure, England overhauled the target with ease in 15.3 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Jason Roy scored a well-calculated 49-run knock while Jonny Bairstow’s big hits showed there were no demons in the pitch as the Indians made it seem after being



invited to bat by England skipper Eoin Morgan.

Roy struck the ball clean and hard to form a 72-run opening wicket stand with Jos Buttler (28), ending any hopes that the Indians harboured of getting back in the game.

The luxury of time allowed the England batsmen to play freely. None of the Indian bowlers looked like asking tough questions to the visitors.

Roy was trapped by Washington Sundar but by that time England had put 89 runs on the board. Bairstow (26) and Dawid Malan (24) took the side past the finish line.

Earlier, after India’s top-order was blown away, Iyer gauged the nature of the pitch quickly and adjusted his game accordingly, playing a sensible innings that helped them cross the 100-run mark.