Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul shared an initial 82-for-50-ball partnership as India defeated England by six wickets in their T20 World Cup warm-up in Dubai; Watch the tournament live on Sky Sports from now until November 14
India starter Ishan Kishan hit 69 of 45 balls against England before retiring
Ishan Kishan snapped an undefeated 69 as India set a score for the T20 World Cup, beating England by six wickets in their warm-up clash in Dubai.
The big hitter started three sixes and seven fours on his 45-ball hit before retiring, while KL Rahul also connected for half a century before Rishabh Pant (29th from 14) led India home with six unused deliveries.
Jonny Bairstow scored the leading scorer with 49 of 36 balls, while Moeen Ali hit 43 not out of 20 while an England team led by Jos Buttler, with Eoin Morgan rested, was 188-5 after being put at bat.
But they failed to defend that total and also suffered an injury scare in preparation for the tournament when Liam Livingstone lost a catch deep within Kishan and left the field wincing in pain.
Having lost the toss, substitute captain Jos Buttler came out to open with Jason Roy and the pair got off to a fast start, putting in 36 before Mohammed Shami cut one off to throw in substitute captain 18.
Shami (3-40) also took into account Roy (17), who threw him into the hands of a thin, short leg, while Dawid Malan (18) was duped by a wrong ‘one’ from Rahul Chahar.
However, Chahar received some punishment from the bellicose Livingstone (30 of 20) when he and Bairstow led England into a command position with a position of 52 of 33 deliveries.
Shami returned to Livingstone bowling with a yorker off his pads and Jasprit Bumrah (1-26) produced an equally unplayable delivery to deny Bairstow half a century, but a clinical punch from Moeen, culminating in two sixes off Bhuvneshwar Kumar for complete the entries. raised England to 188-5.
That goal had no fears for India’s starters though, with Kishan and Rahul (51-of-24) in imperious mood as they shared a starting partnership of 82-of-50.
Rahul savagely attacked Chris Woakes, hitting 18 from a single over, as well as hitting Moeen for four, then six and punching Mark Wood to the limit of coverage to reach his half century, only to go after the next ball as well and hole out. about backwards.
Livingstone scooped up Virat Kohli’s award-winning scalp for 11, but the off-roader injured his hand while trying to pull Kishan, whom Buttler had just dropped from the side of his leg.
But Pant took over, capitalizing on Chris Jordan’s messy penultimate over and sealing India’s victory with a massive six over midwicket.
Jonny Bairstow looked in good shape and surely would have logged half a century had he not been on the receiving end of an impressive Jasprit Bumrah yorker, while Moeen Ali also showed some clean shots towards the end of England’s innings.
David Willey was the choice of England bowlers, winning 1-16 and underscoring his mettle both early innings and in death overs; unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to launch the last one.
For India, KL Rahul maintained their magnificent form after a prolific IPL, while Ishan Kishan’s punching game and power give them an interesting dilemma at the top of the order when the tournament begins.
Despite not taking a wicket, Ravichandran Ashwin gave India some control in the middle, while leader Mohammed Shami again demonstrated his ability to take wickets at crucial moments.
Both teams have one more warm-up match on Wednesday before diving into the tournament proper: India faces Australia in Dubai, while England face New Zealand in Abu Dhabi (11:00 am).
Meanwhile, the first round of the T20 World Cup continues on Tuesday, with Scotland aiming to build on their six-race success against Bangladesh when they take on Papua New Guinea in Muscat.
Coverage is live on Sky Sports Cricket starting at 10.30am, followed on the same channel by the second Group B clash of the day between Oman and Bangladesh.