India will play a five-match T20I series against England, with the first match set to begin this Friday. The two nations have played 14 T20I matches against each other, with each team winning 7 matches each. There have been a few entertaining T20Is between the two teams. Cricwizz takes a look.
England beat India by 3 runs in the one-off T20I in 2014
India lost a thriller by 3 runs but a lot was due to captain MS Dhoni’s failure to finish off the game. India had 17 runs to get in the last over bowled by Chris Woakes. Dhoni slammed the first ball for a six. He took a two off the next ball but refused a single to deny strike to Ambati Rayudu as he looked to finish off the game himself with his big-hitting.
With 9 needed off 3, he smacked the fourth ball for a four. But he again refused to take a single off the next ball. The pressure was on Dhoni now to get five off the last ball, and he has done that many times before.
But it was not Dhoni’s day as the 'Captain Cool' failed to get it past the boundary and could manage just a run. India lost the match by 3 runs, and the refused 2 singles came to haunt Dhoni and his men.
England captain Eoin Morgan who slammed 31-ball 71 to help England post 180/7 was declared man of the match.
England beat India by 3 runs in the 2009 World T20
This was another match Dhoni failed to finish off. India, who were the defending World T20 champions, were stunned by England by 3 runs in this match. Chasing 154 for a win, India were 135/5 in the 19th over, needing 19 runs off 6 balls for a win.
Ryan Sidebottom bowled the last over to Dhoni and another big hitter Yusuf Pathan, but the two could manage just 15 runs, with 1 four and 1 six, off six balls between themselves to lose the match by 3 runs. Sidebottom was declared man of the match for his 2 for 31.
India beat England by 5 runs at Nagpur in 2017
It was the 2nd T20I of the three-match series, and India were trailing 0-1. They needed to win the 2nd match to level the series. But it looked like England’s game when the tourists needed just 8 runs from the last 6 balls, with Joe Root and Jos Buttler at the crease.
However, Jasprit Bumrah got India back into the game, dismissing Root for LBW, although contentious, on the first ball. England then lost their cool, with Buttler getting bowled on the fourth ball. With six needed off the last ball, Bumrah bowls a dot ball to win the match for India by 5 runs. He gave just 2 runs for 2 wickets in the last over to win the game for India.
Photo courtesy: Sportzwiki
