An emphatic win in the opening game of the T20 International series against England has set the tone for the rest of India's long-awaited tour as the visitors would look to ensure that the spin-wary hosts remain on the back-foot when the two sides clash in the second T20I at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Friday. India's star spinner Kuldeep Yadav recorded his best figures as he took five wickets giving away just 24 runs, while KL Rahul scored an unbeaten second T20I century as the Men in Blue produced a fine all-round display to stun Eoin Morgan's men by eight wickets in Manchester for an early lead on this tour. Another win would seal the three-match series for Virat Kohli and his team. In fact, India stand on the cusp of a sixth successive T20I series win - a run stretching back to their 2-1 win over New Zealand at home in November 2017. In all, they have been unbeaten in bilateral T20I series since September last year. (Live Scorecard: India vs England)
Live Updates Between India vs England 2nd T20, straight from Cardiff
22:37 IST: FOUR! Boundary to finish of the 7th over from Liam Plunkett. Raina awkwardly pulls the ball over long on boundary for a four. IND 36-3 after 7 overs.
22:33 IST: POWERPLAY overs are up! Perfect start for England as Indian batsmen Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli are living dangerously at the moment. England pacers are causing a lot of trouble with short pitched deliveries. IND 31-3 after 6 overs.
22:29 IST: FOUR! Relief for India as Suresh Raina tucks the ball fine towards fine-leg boundary. IND 27-3 after 5.1 overs.
22:26 IST: OUT! Knocked him over! Plunkett dismisses KL Rahul for 6. India are in deep trouble. IND 22-3 after 4.5 overs.
22:23 IST: OUT! That was unfortunate! Bizarre dismissal as Dhawan fails to make his ground after getting hit on his arm. IND 22-2 after 4.2 overs.
22:21 IST: Change of bowling from England. Liam Plunkett replaces David Willy.
22:20 IST: FOUR! Misfield from Alex Hales at deep square leg and Dhawan collects a boundary off Jake Ball. IND 21-1 after 3.5 over.
22:14 IST: Brilliant start from the English bowlers. 3 overs are up and India are 13 for 1.
22:09 IST: OUT! Rohit Sharma is out after scoring 5 runs. Mistimes a pull shot and the ball is comfortably caught by wicket-keeper Jos Buttler. First T20I wicket for debutant Jake Ball. IND 7-1 after 2 overs.
IT20 debut
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 6, 2018
Wicket in your first over
Great stuff, @JakeBall!!
FOLLOW LIVE: https://t.co/LIlp8XyKSB#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/rNvaer7fSU
22:08 IST: FOUR! First boundary for India and Rohit Sharma. That was SMASHED right from the middle of the bat. IND 7-1 after 1.4 overs.
22:05 IST: Brilliant first over from David Willey. Just one single. IND 1-0 after 1 over.
22:04 IST: Rohit Sharma and India are off the mark with a single. Rohit tries a risky ramp shot off Willey but misses. Ball hits on the thigh and Rohit takes a single.IND 1-0 after 0.5 overs.
22:01 IST: First Ball! Right on the money from David Willey.
21:59 IST: Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are out at the center for India. David Willey will start the proceedings for England.
21:36 IST: So, India have gone unchanged in the second T20I. England on the other hand have gone in with one change. They have opted for an extra seamer. Jake Ball replaces Moeen Ali in the second T20I against India.
21:35 IST: India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Here's our Playing XI for the day.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/q5TLfxkvOC
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 6, 2018
21:35 IST: England (Playing XI): Jason Roy, Jos Buttler(w), Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Jonny Bairstow, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball.
21:32 IST: Jake Ball makes his debut for England!
Congrats @JakeBall!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 6, 2018
FOLLOW: https://t.co/i8dyTh45AU#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/QnFeFwjnnL
21:31 IST: England skipper Eoin Morgan has won the toss and opted to bowl against India.
21:00 IST: 30 minutes to go for the toss.
20:55 IST: Here's the pitch for you! There is a bit of grass on the surface but looks like a belter of a track. A high scoring game can be expected.
Take a look at the pitch for the game.
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 6, 2018
Thoughts?#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/vT6q3bLsZl
20:15 IST: The men blue have left their hotel and are in the team bus heading to the stadium.
It's time for the 2nd T20I against England at Cardiff.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/ZJcNkYLfqq
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 6, 2018
20:05 IST: Look who is back in the England team!
Ben Stokes will be at Sophia Gardens for our second Vitality IT20 against India following his appearance for @DurhamCricket in the @VitalityBlast.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 6, 2018
He is expected to be available for selection for our final IT20 on Sunday. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/85WZeK6uc9
20:01 IST: Here's a look at the training session that team India earlier had ahead of the second encounter.
The boys look all geared up for the 2nd T20I against England.
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 6, 2018
Will they go up 2-0 today in the three-match T20I series?#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/I2VwhOWCK6
20:00 IST: Hello and welcome to the live updates of the second T20I match between India and England.
In terms of ICC rankings, a 2-0 series lead will allow India to close the gap with second-placed Australia, while a 3-0 whitewash will help them leapfrog to second behind top-ranked Pakistan. Australia will have to win both their next two games in the ongoing tri-series in Zimbabwe to stay above India. A loss on Friday will see England drop down to rank seven below New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies, respectively. It will be a surprising downturn for the high-flying English team, one of the better in limited-overs' cricket at the moment. It is a stark reminder of their poor winning ratio nevertheless, having won only 5 out of their last 10 T20 internationals. The big question facing England is how to contend with the unorthodox wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav. In the aftermath of their loss on Tuesday, both skipper Eoin Morgan and ace batsman Jos Buttler have urged their teammates to show more patience at the crease and watch the ball carefully.
But with such a short turnaround in the fixtures' list, it is easier said than done. The English camp will deploy the services of spin-bowling machine 'Merlyn' at Cardiff. A scarcity of unorthodox wrist spinners to practice against is one of the key reasons for this move, as the spin-bowling machine is capable of replicating every style of delivery. An English team last used it ahead of the 2005 Ashes, when they were practicing to contend with Shane Warne. A key reason underlined by Morgan after the first defeat was that the middle-order batsmen, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, who both got stumped off successive googlies, needed more time to settle in. Despite the loss, one of the key strengths for England is their top-order's ability to handle pace and they would like another fast start at Cardiff. It is perhaps the only real concern for India emanating from that first game as the enforced new-ball pairing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav was proven ineffective at Old Trafford.
