Ishan Kishan enjoyed a stellar India debut as his brilliant 56 helped Virat Kohli's side to a seven-wicket triumph over England in the second Twenty20 International.
Hunting a record-setting, seventh successive oversees T20 victory, England were put in to bat in front of a vociferous, 70,000-strong crowd in Ahmedabad, where Jason Roy's 46 was not followed up as the tourists managed a relatively modest 164-6
Ishan took the chance to shine, the 22-year-old carrying his IPL form onto the international stage with a superb innings which included five fours and four sixes.
Rishabh Pant offered a great cameo of 26 from 13, before Kohli (73), who survived a lengthy stumping review, guided India to a convincing win that ties the series at 1-1.
The captain's decision-making paid off from the outset as he bowled first and Bhuvneshwar Kumar pinned Jos Buttler leg before three deliveries in, yet cool shots from Dawid Malan (24) and Roy put England on the front foot.
With Malan going lbw on review, Bhuvneshwar took a good catch on the boundary to send Roy packing four short of his half-century, before Jonny Bairstow looped to Suryakumar Yadav.
England still looked in a strong position, yet Eoin Morgan (28) and Ben Stokes (24) failed to capitalise on sluggish bowling late on.
KL Rahul's early dismissal then represented a promising start with the ball for England, but Ishan subsequently came to the fore.
With Kohli at the other end, the debutant set about dismantling England's attack, the pair's 16 from the final over of the powerplay putting the hosts in the driving seat.
Dropped by Stokes on 40, Ishan made England pay, surpassing 50 with successive sixes off Adil Rashid, although his magnificent innings came to an end when he was trapped lbw later in the same over.
Pant picked up where Ishan left off, lashing Rashid deep into the crowd before he sent Chris Jordan for 10 from two deliveries, only to pick out Bairstow with the next ball.
Having allowed the supporting cast their moments in the spotlight, Kohli picked his time to shine, moving onto 53 with a sublime lift over the long-off boundary.
Kohli was lucky to survive after smart work from Buttler behind the stumps, but there was no doubt India deserved their success and the skipper's supreme six wrapped things up in style.
India's faith in youth rewarded
After suffering a comprehensive defeat in the first match, India needed a response, and in the form of Ishan, who averaged 57.33 in the IPL last year, they may well have found their next T20 superstar.
Ishan is just the second India player to score a half-century on their T20 debut, after Ajinkya Rahane, who amassed 61 against England in Manchester in 2011.
Another landmark for clinical Kohli
Kohli's record in run chases is exceptional and, while Ishan will enjoy the limelight of a special debut, India's captain ensured he was not totally outdone.
He ultimately finished as the top scorer, and his composure and clinical shot selection was displayed in all its glory by a nonchalant, flick of the wrists for a six which not only confirmed victory, but also brought up his 3,000th T20I run.
Leeds United 4-0 Norwich City (4-0 agg): Whites book Wembley spot in emphatic fashion
Leeds United thumped Norwich City 4-0 in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final to seal their place at Wembley.
After a goalless draw in the first leg left it all to play for at Elland Road on Thursday, Leeds turned on the style in front of a raucous home crowd to cruise into the final on May 26.
Ilia Gruev settled the majority of Elland Road's nerves with just seven minutes played as he caught out Angus Gunn with a long-range free-kick, curling into the space vacated by the Norwich goalkeeper's expectation of a cross.
Joel Piroe then doubled the hosts' advantage 13 minutes later, again capitalising on poor goalkeeping to beat Gunn to Wilfried Gnonto's cross and nod home.
The tie was effectively over five minutes from half-time, Georginio Rutter getting on the end of Crysencio Summerville's squared pass to rifle off the underside of the crossbar and in.
And after Gunn spilled Gnonto's low shot in the second half, Rutter cut the ball back for Summerville to poke home and secure Leeds' place in next Sunday's final, where they will meet either Southampton or West Brom.
Data debrief
Leeds may have looked pretty blunt in attack at Carrow Road, but that was far from the case on home soil as they put the Canaries to the sword in brutal fashion while keeping a 21st Championship clean sheet this season, more than any other side.
Daniel Farke's men produced 2.45 xG (expected goals) to Norwich's 0.51, while Summerville made it 20 league goals for the season, more than any other Leeds player.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Warm-Up matches confirmed
The official warm-up match fixtures for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 have been announced. Matches are scheduled to be played from Monday 27 May to Saturday 1 June across the USA and at two venues in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies.
The venues to host the 16 warm up matches are the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas; Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida and Queen’s Park Oval and Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago.
Warm-up fixtures will be 20 overs per side and will not carry international T20 status as teams will be allowed to field all members of their 15-player squad. In a change from the previous rights cycle, teams will now have the option of playing up to two warm-up matches depending on arrival time at the event.
The West Indies against Australia fixture at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday 30 May will be open to fans, tickets will be available at tickets.t20worldcup.com or box offices located at the National Cricket Centre and Queen’s Park Oval from 16 May.
Warm-up match schedule:
Monday 27 May
Canada v Nepal, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 10h30
Oman v Papua New Guinea, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 15h00
Namibia v Uganda, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 19h00
Tuesday 28 May
Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida 10h30
Bangladesh v USA, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 10h30
Australia v Namibia, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 19h00
Wednesday 29 May
South Africa intra-squad, Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida 10h30
Afghanistan v Oman, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 13h00
Thursday 30 May
Nepal v USA, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 10h30
Scotland v Uganda, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 10h30
Netherlands v Canada, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 15h00
Namibia v Papua New Guinea, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 15h00
West Indies v Australia, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 19h00
Friday 31 May
Ireland v Sri Lanka, Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida 10h30
Scotland v Afghanistan, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 10h30
Saturday 1 June
Bangladesh v India, Venue TBC USA
IPL: Washout confirms SRH play-off place
Sunrisers Hyderabad are into the Indian Premier League play-offs despite their game against Gujarat Titans being abandoned without even doing the toss due to rain.
SRH move onto 15 points, with one game remaining, but are now ensured a top-four finish for the first time since 2020.
Their top-two hopes have taken a hit though – they have to beat Punjab Kings in their final game and hope Rajasthan Royals lose to Kolkata Knights Riders to finish second.
The Titans were already out of play-off contention after their previous game against KKR was also called off due to a heavy storm without hitting a ball. They finish their season currently third from bottom, though that could change depending on results in the final few matches.
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