India lost the second T20I of their series against England by 4 wickets at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday, slipping to 0-1 down in the five match series. After the defeat, captain Shreyas Iyer made it clear he did not want to pin the loss on any single player, even though his remarks circled back repeatedly to Ravi Bishnoi's expensive bowling. Batting first, India were restricted to 190 for 7 in their 20 overs. England then chased the target down in 19 overs with 4 wickets in hand. Speaking after the match, Iyer said, "We all know where it went wrong, but I don't want to point fingers at one individual."
Bishnoi's expensive over turns the match
England were 142 for 5 after 16 overs and the contest looked firmly in India's grip. Everything changed in the very next over. Ravi Bishnoi leaked 29 runs in the 17th over alone, which included 2 no balls. Across his full spell of 4 overs, the leg spinner conceded 60 runs without picking up a single wicket, and that one over proved to be the moment the game slipped away from India.
Iyer's blunt assessment of his bowler
Speaking about the 25 year old leg spinner, the captain said, "I think there was one no ball, but I'm sure he'll come back stronger. Then in the 17th over the game slipped away, and he needs to learn from that. It was a strong score on that surface, especially with Tilak's brilliant 20 runs in the last over." Notably, Iyer stopped short of putting the loss squarely on Bishnoi's shoulders, framing it instead as a collective responsibility for the team.
Jacob Bethell's blazing knock swings the game
The hero of England's chase was Jacob Bethell, who smashed an unbeaten 76 off just 46 balls, studded with 5 sixes and 5 fours. Iyer had high praise for the innings, saying, "The way Bethell took on the bowlers was commendable. I think Sam Curran figured out the dimensions of the ground early on and didn't give our left handed batters room to free their arms. The batter is strong on the leg side, and he wasn't letting him play there."
Vaibhav Suryavanshi's historic debut
The match also marked a milestone moment. Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his international debut at the age of 15 years and 99 days, becoming India's youngest ever player. His debut innings did not go as planned though, as he was dismissed for 14 runs off 10 balls. On the teenager's debut, Iyer said, "I think he has a fearless approach, and it's genuinely great to watch him play. I didn't expect him to be nervous; he has played fantastic cricket over the last few months and years. He truly rose to the occasion, and it was lovely to watch him bat."
With this loss, India now face mounting pressure to level the series, while Iyer's comments suggest the team management intends to keep backing its young players even as results have not gone their way so far.
