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While Tilak Varma emerged to be the hero for the India team in the second T20I against England, another important contribution came from tailender Ravi Bishnoi who played a crucial supportive role on the crease and stood his ground amidst a steady fall of wickets for India. The 24-year-old, however, already hinted at the kind of knock he was about to play on social media even before the match began.
Ravi Bishnoi reveals his intentions
Despite having an ordinary day with the bowl, the young spin sensation Bishnoi made a crucial batting contribution and paved the way for India’s victory. Bishnoi made 9 runs off 5 balls and scored 2 important boundaries, bringing down the required run rate, and easing the pressure from Varma’s shoulders.
Bishnoi was asked about the unconventional contribution of the tailender from the bat. During the post-match discussion on Star Sports, the broadcaster remarked that while everyone expected that Bishnoi would rotate the strike to let Varma deal with the situation; he scored 2 emphatic boundaries instead.
In response, Bishnoi referred to the reel he posted on Instagram before the match and said, “Why should batters have all the fun? Today was my turn.” The talented youngster has been working hard on his batting skills in the nets, which proved handy during the important face-off against the English side in Chennai.
Additionally, Bishnoi also praised Varma’s batting prowess and his match-winning abilities. Remarking that it was one of the greatest T20I knocks he had seen, Bishnoi talked about the kind of instructions he received from the top-order Indian batter.
“We were talking about batting sensibly. He told me to give him strike and avoid reckless shots. It was important for me to make a decent contributions, Tilak has been batting well for the past three months. He showed once again that he is capable of winning matches. It was one of the best innings in T20 cricket, as it was played under pressure,” the 24-year-old concluded.
Also Read: Twitter reactions: Tilak Varma powers India to a 2-0 series lead over England in the T20Is
India’s thrilling win over England
In a nerve-wracking fixture between the two nations, India outperformed England to win the second T20I and lead the 5-match series 2-0. The English side was invited to bat first by Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The Indian team through a disciplined bowling effort restricted the visitors to 165/9 in 20 overs. England skipper Jos Buttler played a crucial knock of 45 runs from 30 deliveries. Lower-order batter Brydon Carse added a 31-run knock off 17 balls to help England reach the total.
In response, the Indian side didn’t get the start they expected with openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma getting dismissed early. Skipper Yadav too failed to leave a mark with the bat for his side as wickets kept falling in quick succession for the home side. Washington Sundar made important contributions with the bat and supported Varma to bridge the gap and bring the run-chase to an exciting finish. Varma played a match-winning knock of 72 runs off 55 balls to sail through the Indian run-chase and win the match by 2 wickets.