England defeated India by four wickets in the second T20 International at Old Trafford on Saturday, chasing down 191 with an over to spare to lead the five-match series at 1-0.
Jacob Bethell anchored the chase with an unbeaten 76 off 46 balls, while Harry Brook's explosive 39 off just 15 deliveries and Tom Banton's 39 ensured England recovered after losing two wickets in the opening over.
India enjoyed a dream start as Arshdeep Singh removed Ben Duckett and captain Jos Buttler inside the first over to leave England reeling at 1/2. Brook, however, counter-attacked in spectacular fashion, smashing Arshdeep for 27 runs in a single over to swing the momentum back in England's favour.
The visitors fought back through Axar Patel, who dismissed Brook following a successful review, while Arshdeep finished with three wickets and Varun Chakaravarthy trapped Will Jacks lbw. But Bethell held firm and virtually sealed the contest by taking Ravi Bishnoi apart for 29 runs in the 17th over, leaving England needing just 20 from the last three overs.
Earlier, India posted 190/7 after opting to bat.
Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made an impressive international debut, scoring 14 off 10 balls with two sixes before being stumped. Abhishek Sharma provided a brisk start with 43 off 24 deliveries, Ishan Kishan narrowly missed a half-century with 49, while captain Shreyas Iyer contributed 37 off 22 balls. Tilak Varma's late unbeaten cameo helped India finish strongly.
Sam Curran was England's standout bowler with figures of 3/33, while Liam Dawson, Will Jacks and Jofra Archer claimed a wicket apiece.
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