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Rediff.com  » Cricket » PHOTOS: Topley, Moeen help England down India

PHOTOS: Topley, Moeen help England down India

Source: PTI
Last updated on: July 15, 2022 01:13 IST
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IMAGES from the 2nd ODI played between England and India at Lord's on Thursday.

England's Reece Topley of England celebrates with teammate Craig Overton after dismissing Suryakumar Yadav

IMAGE: England's Reece Topley of England celebrates with teammate Craig Overton after dismissing Suryakumar Yadav. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Indian top-order fell like ninepins as Reece Topley's 6 for 24 headlined a fine England bowling performance in a series-levelling 100-run win while defending a modest target in the second ODI at the Lord's on Thursday.

 

With parity restored in the three-match series, the decider at the Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday promises to be a mouth-watering contest.

When the Indian bowlers put up another impressive show to bowl out England for 246 in 49 overs, little did one know that the visiting batters would inexplicably implode for a paltry 146 in 38.5 overs in the face of nice seam and swing bowling from Topley.

David Willey (1/27 in 9 overs), seasoned Moeen Ali (1/30) and Liam Livingstone (1/4) also played their parts to perfection.

Topley's figures were the best by an Englishman at the 'Mecca of Cricket'.

Moeen Ali (right) celebrates with Joe Root after taking the wicket of Hardik Pandya  

IMAGE: Moeen Ali (right) celebrates with Joe Root after taking the wicket of Hardik Pandya. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Having won the first game by 10 wickets, the Indian team couldn't have comprehended that the wheels of fortune would turn so swiftly.

With Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant all back in the dressing room just after the first Powerplay and only 31 runs on board, there was only one possible result.

Suryakumar Yadav (27), Hardik Pandya (29) and Ravindra Jadeja (29) did try their bit but the scores would certainly provide a bigger picture of the kind of plight Indian batters endured during the chase.

Dhawan (9 off 26 balls) and skipper Rohit (0 off 9 balls) looked distinctly uncomfortable as the 6 feet 5 inch tall Topley hit the seam and, with his height, also extracted disconcerting bounce consistently.

Knowing that Rohit is a compulsive hooker and puller, Topley kept it full and a typical left-armer's delivery that goes through with the angle found the Indian captain plumb in-front.

Dhawan, whose stay at the wicket was as painful as Rohit, tickled one down the leg-side to Jos Buttler.

Suryakumar Yadav is bowled by Reece Topley 

IMAGE: Suryakumar Yadav is bowled by Reece Topley. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Kohli's 22-second brisk walk down the Lord's Long Room was elegantly filmed by the broadcasters as he was seen getting his collars up while entering the playing arena.

It was followed by three picturesque shots --- an off-drive, an on-drive and a cover drive -- all out of top drawer but the propensity to play everything on front-foot brought about his downfall.

Left-arm pacer Willey angled one on the off-stump and once again the former India captain misjudged the length with his front-foot trigger. The resultant nick was gleefully accepted by skipper Buttler behind the stumps.

Rishabh Pant (0) in a blue Indian jersey has often been a pale shadow of what he is in white flannels. A full toss was deposited to the mid-on fielder off seamer Brydon Carse. It was 31 for 4 and suddenly a target of 247 looked mammoth.

Suryakumar Yadav (27 off 29 balls) seemed to start from where he had left in Nottingham during that incredible T20 hundred.

Along with Pandya, he added 42 runs before Topley, coming in for his second spell, got one to bounce extra and forced the batter to go for a non-existent cut shot when there was bare minimum room for execution.

India's Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates after trapping England's Ben Stokes LBW

IMAGE: India's Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates after trapping England's Ben Stokes LBW. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal's clever variations complemented by Hardik Pandya's steady, fast medium bowling saw India bowl out England for a manageable 246 in 49 overs.

However, it was Moeen Ali (47 off 64 balls) who took the attack back to the opposition camp with his audacious hooked and pulled sixes interspersed with slog sweeps as England's total had some semblance of respectability after the feared top-order promised much but delivered little.

Moeen Ali fell short of his 50, but took to the attack against the Indian bowlers

IMAGE: Moeen Ali fell short of his 50, but took to the attack against the Indian bowlers. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Moeen and David Willey (41 off 49 balls) added 62 runs for the seventh wicket to help set up a 250-run target after 200 looked improbable at one point in time.

Jonny Bairstow is bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal 

IMAGE: Jonny Bairstow is bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

On a two-paced track, Chahal (10-0-47-4) was brilliant in managing his lengths while giving the ball a lot of air as he got rid of England's 'Big Three' -- Jonny Bairstow (31), Joe Root (11) and Ben Stokes (21) -- and then snuffed out Moeen just when he was looking dangerous.

At the other end, Pandya (6-0-28-2), who is slowly getting his bowling rhythm back, chipped in with wickets of Jason Roy (23) and Liam Livingstone (33) to choke the run-flow as Rohit Sharma had another fine day in office, maneuvering his six-man attack.

Mohammed Shami (10-0-48-1) was regal as usual as he castled rival skipper Jos Buttler (4) with a sharp inswinger that tailed in late.

Jason Roy gave England a good start 

IMAGE: Jason Roy hits the first six of the match. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Jasprit Bumrah (10-1-49-2) and Shami were once again in the zone although it wasn't as big a debacle for England compared to the opening game.

It was a steady start for England as Roy first tried breaking the shackles by charging down the track off Shami and blasted him over mid-wicket for a six and then whipped him through the same region for a boundary.

Hardik Pandya celebrates after dismissing Jason Roy  

IMAGE: Hardik Pandya celebrates after dismissing Jason Roy. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Rohit showed great improvisation skills when he got Pandya within the Powerplay. Roy went for a cheeky flick and Suryakumar Yadav stationed some yards inside at backward square leg boundary had the easiest of catches.

It was during the middle overs that Chahal was excellent as he controlled the white Kookaburra like a yo-yo, at times pushing the delivery fuller to deceive Bairstow going for a sweep shot with no room available.

In case of Root, there was enough flight but the length slightly shortened as he went for the sweep and missed the line.

Reece Topley is clean bowled by Jasprit Bumrah 

IMAGE: Reece Topley is clean bowled by Jasprit Bumrah. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Stokes tried a reverse sweep off a straight delivery and Livingstone, after a run-a-ball 33, was holed out in the deep off Pandya, and trouble loomed large for the home team.

But Moeen, knowing that Indian bowlers will pepper him with short stuff, handled it well and Willey, at the other end, was steady like the first game as the duo took the England past the 200-run mark.

Chahal capped off his fine spell when he bowled a bit full and wide, inducing a slog sweep from Moeen towards the longest part of the Lord's ground. The batter couldn't clear Ravindra Jadeja, who took a well judged catch running around deep mid-wicket area.

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