Player of the Match
Player of the Match

9.22pm As Alex Hales said - it's all to play for in Bristol with the series tied 1-1. Hope you enjoyed ESPNcricinfo's coverage of the second T20I. Hope to see you all soon for the series finale. Till then, on behalf of everyone here, this is Sreshth Shah, signing off.

9.16pm Kohli, the losing captain "Always difficult to come back after losing three early wickets. England hit the right areas and made us play bad shots. Would've liked 10-15 runs more. We thought 149 would be competitive, especially since they had to win. But they eventually did win. They played Kuldeep really well today, and that was the difference in the middle overs this time. They did their homework and played Kuldeep really well. Need to get back day after. The format is cruel: Umesh was outstanding, but the final-ball boundary changed things. Those little things count. Gotta brush it aside, had a good game, but England were better than us."

Morgan, the winning captain: "We showed character. There was a bit more bounce today. When it bounces you can take wickets, and that's what we did. Willey did well, and the unit as a whole did really well. We were happy with that total. To get 150 was a cagey affair, but was happy to go over the line. The way Alex played today, he adapted to conditions really well, and did small partnerships that helped us chase this down. We normally play spin quite well, but it's a matter of being logical while playing."

Alex Hales is the Man of the Match. Here's what he said: "A much needed win. Important game, and nice to take the team through to the win. Had to look at a big more footage for the spinners, and this time I played more on the backfoot. The other day was just a bad day at the office. Any position for me in the team is fine with me. All the guys below me can also hit boundaries, so we were rather confident. Bowling effort was outstanding. Two very strong teams so all to play for in Bristol."

9.07pm Virat Kohli congratulates Alex Hales as the teams shake hands. The series is still alive, and it's all thanks to Alex Hales' composed half-century. Take nothing away from David Willey and Liam Plunkett though. Their eight overs went for only 35 runs, and strangled India early during the Powerplay overs. That India even had a respectable score was courtesy MS Dhoni's late blitz. England, thought, were struggling early, but Morgan and Bairstow ensured they were able companions to Hales as England romped home with two balls to spare. Goes without saying that we apologise for the temporary outage. Stick around for the presentation.

Gops: "England will be a happy team today. 1. Merlyn has paid off. 2. They get keep their 5-0 record at Cardiff.!!"

Dude: "I guess England has found a winning formula. Win toss and put India to bat first. Spinners should finish their stint before 15th over to have an impact. We live and learn."

19.4
1
Kumar to Willey, 1 run, winning runs! Length ball on middle, and pulled away to the deep midwicket boundary. England tie the series 1-1
19.3
1
Kumar to Hales, 1 run, full outside leg, but Hales backs away and taps it to deep midwicket for a single. Scores tied
19.2
4
Kumar to Hales, FOUR, length ball on middle, and Hales pulls this fine down the leg side! Bottom-edged from Hales, and the ball has enough lets to run away to the boundary
19.1
6
Kumar to Hales, SIX, huuuuuuge! Sends this into the river once again. Full on off stump, and Hales manages to get under this. Swings through the ball's line, and deposits this into the river Taff. New balls please!

END OF OVER:
19 | 8 Runs | ENG: 137/5 (12 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.21, RRR: 12.00)

  • Alex Hales47 (38b)
  • David Willey2 (5b)
  • Umesh Yadav4-0-36-2
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar3-0-7-1
18.6
1
Yadav to Hales, 1 run, ful and wide outside off. Hales thumps a square drive to the sweeper fielder for a single. England need 12 off six!
18.5
4
Yadav to Hales, FOUR, low full toss on off, and Hales drills this through the covers! Umesh misses the length, and Hales punishes him completely
18.4
2
Yadav to Hales, 2 runs, yorker just outside off, but Hales manages to stick his bat out and steer this fine to third man. Rohit covers a lot of ground at third man to send in a flat throw, but Hales was safe - despite Dhoni's brilliance behind the stumps
18.3
0
Yadav to Hales, no run, yorker just outside off! Hales can't get bat to ball as the delivery snakes under his bat and goes through to MSD
18.2
1
Yadav to Willey, 1 run, Willey backs away, and Yadav follows him too. Full outside leg, and Willey's leg-side flick takes a leading edge to cover
18.1
0
Yadav to Willey, no run, yorker on off stump, and Willey somehow manages to squeeze it back to Umesh. He did want the single, but he had to run back after seeing Umesh giving him the charge

Umesh to bowl the 19th over. England need 20 off 12 balls.

END OF OVER:
18 | 3 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 129/5 (20 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.16, RRR: 10.00)

  • David Willey1 (3b)
  • Alex Hales40 (34b)
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar3-0-7-1
  • Kuldeep Yadav4-0-34-0
17.6
1lb
Kumar to Willey, 1 leg bye, full outside leg, and Willey fails to get bat to ball once again! Hits his boot outside leg stump. Just three off the over!

Pranshu Mittal : "England scored the same amount of runs in 17 overs as india did in 19 overs. Let's see now if England can emaluate the masterclass of Dhoni in triple amount of time. "

17.5
0
Kumar to Willey, no run, full outside leg stump, and Willey backs away to try and flick behind square. Bhuvi followed Willey, and therefore cramped him further for room. Hits his pads, and then goes to the leg side
17.4
1
Kumar to Hales, 1 run, good length on off, and Hales plays the late cut to short third man. The ball was swinging into the batsman, so he had to play it from very near to his body
17.3
0
Kumar to Hales, no run, gold dust! Length ball outside off, but swinging into Hales as he tries to pull. The ball goes under his bat and through to MSD on the bounce

Ajay: "seems like both of my favorite teams are loosing today, one has opportunity to come back but other will take 4 more years to come back. :("

17.2
1
Kumar to Willey, 1 run, length ball on middle, and hits Willey near his glove. Surprised by the pace, and he fends it to the leg side

Willey walks in.

17.1
W
Kumar to Bairstow, OUT, straight to fine leg! Twist in the tale! Length ball on middle, and cramping Bairstow for room as he tries to pull. In the air for a long time, and Kuldeep makes no mistake in the deep diving forward. The dangerous YJB has to walk back

JM Bairstow c Kuldeep Yadav b Kumar 28 (18b 0x4 2x6) SR: 155.55

Gokul G: "The equation is less threatening for England. They should win this easy from here!." -- Here's Bhuvneshwar.

END OF OVER:
17 | 16 Runs | ENG: 126/4 (23 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.41, RRR: 7.66)

  • Jonny Bairstow28 (17b)
  • Alex Hales39 (32b)
  • Kuldeep Yadav4-0-34-0
  • Hardik Pandya4-0-28-1
16.6
1
Kuldeep Yadav to Bairstow, 1 run, full on off again, and he drives through to long on for a walking single
16.5
1
Kuldeep Yadav to Hales, 1 run, low full toss on off stump, and Hales drills this down to long on for a single
16.4
1
Kuldeep Yadav to Bairstow, 1 run, quicker on leg stump. Flicked off his pads to square leg for a single

England 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st16JJ RoyJC Buttler
2nd17JE RootJC Buttler
3rd11AD HalesJE Root
4th48EJG MorganAD Hales
5th34AD HalesJM Bairstow
6th23AD HalesDJ Willey