Source: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jacob Bethell helped England spoil the international debut by teenage India sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on Saturday with a four-wicket win in the second Twenty20.
At age 15 years, 99 days, Sooryavanshi usurped Sachin Tendulkar as his country’s youngest men’s player and marked the occasion with two blistering sixes as he scored 14 from 10 balls.
But it was Bethell, a comparative veteran at 22, who made the match-winning contribution at Old Trafford.
With England chasing 191 for victory, he came to the crease at 51-3 and produced a perfectly paced 76 not out to carry the hosts to a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Bethell hit the button in a game-changing 17th over, smashing two free hits for six after backfoot no-balls from Ravi Bishnoi, who leaked 29 to put England in control.
Bethell hit five fours and five sixes in his 46-ball stay, finishing the game alongside Jofra Archer as England nailed a four-wicket win with an over to spare.
Opening the batting in place of Sanju Samson, Sooryavanshi walked out in front of a majority Indian crowd in Manchester and a primetime evening television audience in Mumbai.
His first opponent was another T20 debutant, Josh Tongue, 13 years older but with 13 fewer T20 appearances. Sooryavanshi missed his first two balls and got off the mark with a sketchy inside edge that pinged past his off stump.
That brought him up against his Rajasthan Royals teammate Archer and he duly announced himself by stooping low to send a remarkable stroke spiraling high over his left shoulder for six. He was at it again off his seventh delivery, launching Tongue into the stands over wide long-on.
With no real spin on offer and the field up, Will Jacks got the better of the youngster. Charging down the track, Sooryavanshi lost his balance as he tried to a club a flat, leg-stump delivery off his pads to leave Jos Buttler a simple stumping.
While the Sooryavanshi show played out, Abhishek Sharma was busy hammering the lion’s share of a 50-run stand. In a near replay of the previous match in Durham, Sharma was beginning to look untouchable when the introduction of Sam Curran forced the error, albeit with a low full toss that was pumped straight to deep midwicket to cut Sharma short on 43.
Curran picked up two more wickets, the dangerous Ishan Kishan for 49 and Shivam Dube for 5, and could have improved on figures of 3-33 had Archer’s attempted catch off Tilak Verma not been ruled out.
England’s innings came unstuck immediately, Arshdeep Singh getting openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler caught for ducks in the first over of the chase.
Harry Brook embarked on a violent counterattack worth 39 in 15 balls. His salvo included four fours and three powerful sixes in a row as he brought Singh back to earth with a bump.
Needing 49 from 24 balls as the endgame loomed, England was still second favorite until Bishnoi fell apart and Bethell cashed in ruthlessly in the 17th. —MANCHESTER, England (AP)
