England bowlers did the groundwork before starter Jason Roy’s explosive 49th helped secure a sweeping eight-wicket victory against India at the first Twenty20 International in Ahmedabad on Friday.
By choosing to participate, Eoin Morgan and his men denied India a strong start and ultimately restricted them to below par 124-7 despite a breezy 67 from Shreyas Iyer.
Roy broke three sixes and four limits in his 32-ball blitz and England closed out the win with 4.3 overs to spare with Dawid Malan, who had 24 no outs, sealing the win with a six.
Roy and Jos Buttler effectively ended the contest with their 72-race opening partnership.
However, while the tourists outnumbered the strong-looking local team, there was another incident that caught everyone’s attention.
On the last ball of 14, Sundar was embroiled in a heated exchange with England batter Jonny Bairstow after Dawid Malan returned a direct pass to Sundar and the latter went to catch him in his follow-up.
Referee Nitin Menon has to step in to publicize the situation.
Malan splintered it to the left of the pitcher and Bairstow did not change course, turning his back on him and getting back into the crease, which in the process gave Sundar no room to take the catch. In fact, the ball hit Bairstow in the helmet as he turned to return to the crease.
– Maqbool (@im_maqbool) March 12, 2021
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Meanwhile, Ahmedabad hosts all five games in the series and the second game is scheduled for Sunday.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.