2nd T20I: Varma's Magnificent 72 Secures India Thrilling Win Against England

Chennai, Jan 25 (NationPress) Tilak Varma clinched a sensational victory for India by scoring an impressive 72 not out, leading the home team to a thrilling two-wicket triumph over England during the second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday. This exhilarating win provided India with a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. After limiting England to 165/5 in their 20 overs, India started strongly but quickly found themselves in trouble at 78/5, due to the visitors' bowlers delivering some serious firepower.

Tilak Varma, who had a fiery start, shifted gears and managed the pressure effectively, achieving his first fifty in India, which he chose not to celebrate.

Utilizing the pace of England’s bowlers, Varma scored most of his runs behind the square region, demonstrating his remarkable temperament by staying composed and partnering with the tail-enders. He then struck Jamie Overton through extra cover to complete the chase with four balls to spare, finishing unbeaten on 72 off 55 balls, featuring four boundaries and five sixes.

After guiding India to victory, Varma relished the cheers from the crowd as the Chepauk stadium erupted in joy, with the Vande Mataram song by AR Rahman playing, enhancing the emotional atmosphere. The chase commenced with Abhishek Sharma smashing Jofra Archer for three boundaries in the first over, but he was soon trapped lbw by Mark Wood. Archer also removed Sanju Samson, who was caught in the deep after being hurried into a pull.

Suryakumar Yadav started positively against England’s aggressive pace strategy, hitting three quick boundaries, while Varma capitalized on Archer’s speeds, slashing him for four and then flicking and pulling him for two sixes. He welcomed Brydon Carse with a pull over fine leg for six, but soon Suryakumar was bowled by Carse, and Dhruv Jurel fell to a pull shot as well. India faced another setback when Hardik Pandya edged behind off Carse.

With Buttler skillfully rotating his bowlers and the pacers causing trouble, India found themselves in a precarious position. As Varma took on the holding role, Washington Sundar managed to scoop Overton for four and was dropped by Adil Rashid at ten. Varma then unleashed his aggression against Wood’s pace, pulling him for six and hitting two fours over mid-off, pulling India back into contention.

While Axar Patel was dismissed after slog-sweeping to the man at deep off Liam Livingstone, Varma executed a reverse sweep and reached his fifty by sending Archer for six. He followed that by slashing over point for another six, with Arshdeep Singh earning a fortunate boundary for four.

England clawed back with Arshdeep toe-ending to mid-wicket off Rashid, placing pressure on Ravi Bishnoi and Varma. Bishnoi managed two boundaries, and Varma closed the chase with a stunning four, celebrating with sheer joy to seal a thrilling win for India.

Brief scores:

England 165/9 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 45, Brydon Carse 31; Axar Patel 2-32, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-38) lost to India 166/8 in 19.2 overs (Tilak Varma 72 not out, Washington Sundar 26; Brydon Carse 3-29, Adil Rashid 1-14) by two wickets