Almost all batsmen got starts, but perished to Chahal by playing across the line when a straighter approach would have been more beneficial. Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes tried cross-batted shots and were either bowled or trapped leg-before
Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates an England wicket during the second ODI at Lord’s. Pic/Bipin Patel
England’s top-order batsmen are struggling to work out the right balance between attack and defence and as a result, they failed to get going in the second match on the trot.
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Of course, there was a bit of improvement from the disaster at The Oval. Yet, much more was expected from the famed batting line-up in the second ODI here at Lord’s.
If it was Jasprit Bumrah who proved a handful in the first ODI, it was leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who had the batsmen in a spin on Thursday.
Almost all batsmen got starts, but perished to Chahal by playing across the line when a straighter approach would have been more beneficial. Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes tried cross-batted shots and were either bowled or trapped leg-before. Only Moeen Ali, who top-scored with 47, was caught on the boundary off Chahal.
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Chahal went on to pick four wickets for 47 and was largely instrumental in restricting the home team to 246 in 49 overs. At one stage, even that score did not seem possible. Only the lower-order pair of Moeen and David Willey revived the innings with a 62-run stand for the seventh wicket. Very early in the partnership, Prasidh Krishna floored Willey and that proved costly as the pair batted resolutely to give the total some respectability.
Virat Kohli was fit and back in the XI in place of Shreyas Iyer. India were 10-1 in five overs at the time of going to press.
Brief scores
England 246 in 49 overs (M Ali 47, D Willey 41; Y Chahal 4-47, H Pandya 2-28, J Bumrah 2-49) v India (Scores incomplete)
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