England slide to defeat by India in second T20

England must win all three remaining T20s to claim the series

Second T20, Chennai

England 165-9 (20 overs): Buttler 45 (30); Axar 2-32

India 166-8 (19.2 overs): Tilak 72* (55); Carse 3-29

India won by two wickets; lead five-match series 2-0

Scorecard

Brydon Carse's efforts with bat and ball were in vain as England suffered a two-wicket defeat to India in the second T20 international.

Asked to bat first again, England bettered their total from the first match of the series when they posted a defendable, if not particularly imposing,165-9 in Chennai.

Captain Jos Buttler top scored for England for the second match in succession as he struck a characteristically fluent 45 off 30 balls.

When Buttler holed out to deep mid-wicket off Axar Patel to leave England 77-4, India's spinners threatened to cut England's middle order apart.

However, Jamie Smith confidently hit 22 off 12 balls on his T20 international debut before Carse bludgeoned 31 off 17 to ensure the tourists posted a semi-competitive total.

Carse then spearheaded England's efforts in the field by claiming 3-29 from his four overs, including the wicket of India captain Suryakumar Yadav, as the hosts made hard work of the chase.

India teetered on 78-5 but Tilak Varma mixed aggressive strokeplay - hitting five sixes - with intelligent running between the wickets during a mature knock.

The left-hander came into the middle after the ninth ball of India's innings and remained composed as he batted through for an unbeaten 72.

Tilak was on strike with India requiring six runs to win off the final over of the game, bowled by Jamie Overton, and duly got it done with four balls to spare by thwacking the England seamer's second delivery through the covers for four.

Smith's star rises but Salt struggles

Last summer Smith swaggered into England's Test side like he always belonged, and his nascent rise into one of his country's multi-format stars continued at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Handed an England debut in the format after all-rounder Jacob Bethell took ill, Smith looked utterly unfazed when he came to the crease despite the pressure of Buttler's dismissal and being relatively inexperienced in subcontinental conditions.

He confidently hit spinner Varun Chakravarthy – who had earlier flummoxed Harry Brook with his leg breaks – for a majestic six down the ground off just his fourth delivery before another towering six off Abhishek Sharma.

The only blot was a touch of overconfidence for his dismissal, falling to Abhishek after striking back-to-back boundaries off the left-arm spinner.

Smith may well be asked to step down for the third T20 in Rajkot next Tuesday if Bethell is available but how long can Brendon McCullum and Buttler ignore him?

While Smith's star is burning brightly, wicketkeeper Phil Salt's has dimmed a little.

It was a disappointing day for the England opener, who has four single-figure scores in his last five T20 innings for England and rather carelessly gave his wicket away.

Salt hooked an early short ball from Arshdeep Singh, dragging it across the line from outside off stump, to leave Washington Sundar with a simple catch down at square leg.

Left armers have dismissed him in all of those four low scores.

He fell twice to West Indies left arm spinner Akeal Hosein during England's tour of the Caribbean in December and left-arm seamer Arshdeep has snaffled his wicket twice in this series.

Salt will hope this an anomaly rather than a weakness which can be preyed upon. He has more than enough credit in the bank for his place in the side to not be questioned just yet.

Carse carries spin-light England

Tilak Varma has now hit three fifties and two centuries in 22 T20 internationals

India's bowling attack was dominated by spinners – and having taken 11 English wickets in the series so far it's an approach unlikely to change.

The most wickets England they have lost to spin in a T20 series is 14 (twice vs New Zealand, 2019 and 2023) and there are still three matches to go here.

By contrast, England largely put their faith in pace and Carse was the standout from their battery of quicks.

The Durham man was recalled to the side in place of Gus Atkinson, whose two overs cost 38 runs in the first T20 in Kolkata.

Carse made the highest T20 score by an England number eight since David Willey's 33 against India in 2022 and took that momentum into his bowling.

His versatility on a pitch that required know how as well as raw pace underlined his usefulness in this format, and in these conditions.

Jofra Archer, who bowled brilliantly in the first match, found it tough going with a rather rigid short-ball approach.

Archer disappeared for 60 runs off his four overs, his most expensive figures in a T20, but Carse quickly wised up and expertly controlled his length.

Ben Stokes described Carse as "three bowlers in one" during England's recent Test tour of New Zealand and his skills in the longer format were equally applicable here.

It was telling, though, that Adil Rashid was England's most miserly bowler. His economy of 3.50 and was exactly half that of Carse's.

There's no hiding from the fact England's squad for this series against the T20 World Cup champions looks light on spin options. And Rashid, at 36, is in the twilight of his career.

'We pushed them close' - reaction

England captain Jos Buttler: "It was a great game, really exciting. We created a lot of chances and were really aggressive, we pushed them close.

"I'm pleased with how we went about it with the bat, we took the game on and got up to what was nearly a defendable score. I was pleased with the way we played."

India captain Suryakumar Yadav: "Obviously there is a little bit of relief, they bowled really well and it's good the game went down to the wire.

"We are playing an aggressive brand of cricket but also when needs be the boys are putting their hands up and building those partnerships."

Man of the match, India batter Tilak Varma: "England bowl short but we have played in South Africa so we are prepared. Wood and Archer are really quick so we have been working hard in the nets."