Super Sixes SRL | IND vs ENG Evaluation Chart: Rohit, Iyer leave England in a shell to guide India to six-wicket win

06/02/2020

After a Rohit Sharma half-century upfront, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant played two destructive innings to take the game away from England’s clutch and landed India a six-wicket victory. Earlier, a Jason Roy 76 helped England to 215 - an easily defendable score on a normal day.

Match Review

After being asked to bat first, England had their beast Jason Roy to thank for giving them a disdainful start and he was supported by Jos Buttler who had his own sweet time in the middle. Although the introduction of Yuzvendra Chahal pushed English middle-order to the brink, Roy held one end up to guide 166 when he was dismissed for 76. Moeen Ali later partnered with Jofra Archer to ensure the good work was maintained, with the English side reaching a total of 215 in the stipulated 20 overs.

More often than there would be a certain Virat Kohli to ramp up the 216-run chase, but this was not his day. After KL Rahul and Virat Kohli were dismissed in the sixth over, Rohit Sharma carried on with a sense of purpose and he was ably supported by Shreyas Iyer. Although Moeen Ali eventually got rid of the Indian opener for 51, Iyer had already found his eye in and with an effervescent Rishabh Pant, he took India much closer. A Pant dismissal in the 18th over - after scoring a solid 35 off 14 balls - brought Hardik Pandya to the middle, who with a six, took India home and celebrated the expected arrival of his first child. Iyer remained unbeaten on 82 and India secured a six-wicket victory.

You can check out the scorecard and Match Tracker here.

Turning Point

When Moeen Ali was consigned for 20 runs in one over, the game started to tilt in India’s favour, with Iyer picking on Adil Rashid after that. The three-over period between 14th and 16th overs added 47 runs to virtually take the game away from the English side. Anything other than an Indian win seemed like a distant thought from that point on and that eventually turned out to be the reality.

Highs and Lows

A Virat Kohli dismissal, more often than not, brings a sense of nervousness to Indian fans, but not anymore! Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant have made sure that they have enough ability to be India’s Man Friday for big occasions. This SRL has been witness to that amazing passing of the baton, with the duo filling the gaping hole quite successfully. And the way they led the run-chase today ended up becoming the high and a crucial reminder of the abundance of talent the Delhi Capitals pair have.

Eoin Morgan, in the truest sense, was lost for plans, with his bowling change beggared belief. Especially since the moment Indians were cruising through, he had to resort back to a wicket-taking option, but instead, he continued with a struggling Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali. With Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan there to take care of death overs, Morgan rushing on a one-way track, simply, doesn’t make sense.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: - England 8/10 India 5/10

When Jos Buttler and Jason Roy are your two openers, you bank on them to do some unbelievable magic with the willow and magic they did in the SRL today. It was Jos Buttler, who started to tee off first before Roy brought in some assault against Bumrah, to guide the English side to a comfortable 63 runs in the powerplay. The fact that India gave away 43 runs in the last three overs of the field restrictions put them behind the eight ball.

45/2, with Rahul and Kohli dismissed already, doesn’t inspire much confidence when it comes to powerplay exploitation and that tells a story. Jofra Archer, after being hit for a six on the very first ball of the run chase, returned to dismiss both Rahul and Kohli for 22 and 0 respectively. The fact that India had been able to touch the 10-run mark only once in this phase speaks everything that needs to be spoken about India’s approach in powerplay.

Middle over Manoeuvring: England 8.5/10 India 9.5/10

The one thing that was constant in the middle-over phase was the brutality that Roy launched on the Indians, even though the middle-order failed to live up to the billing, to take the side to 159/4. Root was fundamentally slow in his approach, Morgan was reticent and Bairstow had an off day. So much so that the trio could only add 40 runs off 31 deliveries, leaving the Surrey opener to do the tough job. And what a fine job he did! When he was dismissed, he had a solid 76 to his name which eventually turned out to be the single biggest differentiator.

Rohit Sharma to this Indian side is arguably more important than Roy or Buttler to this English side. Weighing in on that measure alone and the fact that an in-form Shreyas Iyer joined him in the middle, India had a gala time to track down the total, with the nine-over phase yielding 102 runs for India. Even though Rohit was dismissed in the 14th over, just after scoring his 50, Iyer carried on the momentum alongside a fiery Rishabh Pant to give India the edge.

Death Bowling: England 3/10 India 4.5/10

After dismissing Roy, India would have hoped to make a comeback in the death overs, but alas, Moeen Ali and Jofra Archer had other plans. The duo gave Jasprit Bumrah and team nightmare, adding 26 runs for their partnership. India’s unidimensional approach was a further detriment, with a struggling Bumrah having to do most of the heavy lifting. A couple of bad overs from him and Saini sounded the death keel, with the English side making sure to get to 215 in a fairly comfortable manner.

The last five overs literally saluted the freaky genius of Rishabh Pant, quite literally. Iyer had set up the base and made Indian fans dream, but Pant stepped up on the accelerator to ensure India had the last laugh. Even Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer, known as two of the finest when it comes to bowling in the death overs, were consigned to some deep-trenched figures, conceding 37 runs between them. It was as terrible as it could get and from an Indian perspective, a mind-boggling carnage.

Match Frenzy O Meter - GREAT

Well, a high-scoring encounter with sixes galore hardly goes wrong from a spectator stand-point and this had all the ingredients to be called a fantastic encounter. Sixes galore, dramatic turn-around, and a run chase from an unbelievable position. A package in the truest sense.