Jacob Bethell stuns India with 46-ball 76, England go up 1-0

INDIA lose again

Jofra Archer nudges one towards the leg side for a double, and England win her by four wickets and an over to spare. The hosts go 0-1 up in the series and Bethell is the hero for England, staying not out on 76 from 46. Well done. And Shreyas Iyer has 0 wins as a skipper for Team India now in 4 matches.

England 181/6 in 18 overs

Bethell is making it look easy. He scoops Harshit Rana for a six over third man. What is even happening with the Indian bowlers. And some reprive comes for the Indian team as Sam Curran is caught by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the boundary.

England 171/5 in 17 overs

Another back foot no ball by Ravi Bishnoi, and Bethell gets a big six on the free hit. The run rate is well under check. Oh god, the umpires are checking again, and it is another no ball. Poor by the spinner. The result is the same as Bethell goes big and gets his 50 again. It is all but over for India as Bethell has struck 27 already. He ends with figures of 0/60.

England 142/5 in 16 overs

England batters were trying a lot of reverse sweeps. And that has benefitted Varun Chakravarthy here. Coming around the wicket, Will Jacks misses one completely, and is hit in front of the stumps. England 5 down now.

England 124/4 in 14 overs

Varun has been good in patches, but to strike form, he needs that one wicket. He has been disciplined in his 3rd over until now. A good over comes to an end as England still need 67 from 36.

England 118/4 in 13 overs

After being hit for 27 runs in his last over, Arshdeep Singh returns. India desperate for a wicket right now. And now Banton has been removed finally. Banton tries to go over point, but is caught by Tilak Varma. India is back.

England 103/3 in 11 overs

And we are back with pace. Harshit Rana gets a go and again, the runs have started flowing. This partnership needs to be broken. Meanwhile, Banton and Bethell continue to work well. 100 up and so is the 50 partnership between these two.

ENG 91/3 in 10 overs

England need 100 from 60 deliveries at this point, and have 7 wickets in hand. If the Indians don't get a couple of wickets here, this should be an easy one for the hosts. Maybe a few overs for the pacers now.

Axar has been bowling well

Review taken. Spike found. Milestone secured. 💯#AxarPatel brings up his 100th T20I wicket in style 🔥#ENGvIND 2nd T20I 👉 Streaming LIVE on JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/KPEOiURs52

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 4, 2026

ENG 76/3 in 8 overs

And Varun is playing his first match in some time now. And he is welcomed with a reverse sweep by Banton. India would be looking for a couple of wickets here. All-in-all a clean over by the comeback man.

ENG 67/3 in 7 overs

Axar Patel is now the first spinner from India to get to 100 T20I wickets. Arshdeep Singh leads the charts with 133 wickets in the format. A big achievement this for the senior member of the team. Produces yet another miserly over here.

England 53/3 in 5 overs

With the pacers going for plenty, skipper Shreyas Iyer has decided to go with Axar Patel now. There is a huge appeal against Harry Brook for a caught behind, and it has to be taken upstairs. And he is gone. There is a definite glove on way to the keeper. England lose third.

ENG 49/2 in 4 overs

Ravi Bishnoi has come now, early. He needs to tackle the run rate here. Bishnoi has a run up of a medium pacer, takes ages to complete the over. Still a decent over where only 11 runs come.

ENG 38/2 in 3 overs

And all the good work by Arshdeep goes down the drain. Brook hits two fours and three sixes as England get 27 in the over. Brakes need to be put here, or these two will run away with the match.

ENG 11/2 in 2 overs

Harshit Rana does not start well at all. He is hit for a couple of boundaries by Harry Brook. The writing is on the wall. The pacers need to bowl it wide from the stumps and hope the ball swings.

ENG 1/2 in 1 over

On to the second innings now. And Arshdeep Singh has struck in the very first over, very first ball. Bowled wide, the ball swings ever so slightly, Salt plays a pull, edges and is caught behind. Excellent start for the Indians. And we have a second wicket. Arshdeep has a second, as Buttler falls this time. He flicks it, middles, and Varun Chakravarty takes an excellent one.

Harshit Rana falls on the last ball, trying to whack Jofra Archer on a short ball, but edges it to Jos Buttler. India ended up with 190/7. The innings stalled in the middle overs, with Ishan Kishan struggling. Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi added 50 runs for the opening stand before the 15-year-old fell for 14. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan added 65 runs but off 42 balls. Ishan scored a sluggish 49 off 40 balls, after Iyer fell for 37 off 22. India could only manage 81/2 in the middle overs and 44/3 in the death. Sam Curran bagged 3/33 and was the best bowler for England, while Will Jacks bowled three overs for 1/22.

• Powerplay: 65/2
• Middle-overs: 81/2
• Death overs: 44/3

India have 3 consecutive sixes across the 19th and 20th over. Harshit Rana hit Josh Tongue for a six, Tilak Varma continued that show against Jofra Archer.

Jos Buttler's direct hit on the non-striker's end removes Axar Patel, who tried to steal a single. Axar falls for 2 and India's downfall continues. India 165/6 in 18.3.

Sam Curran almost had his 4th wicket as Jofra Archer seemed to take the catch of Tilak Varma. But even Archer was not convinced and as the umpires went for the review, the replays showed that Archer did not have his fingers under the ball. And the ball touched the grass.

Ishan Kishan falls for 49 off 40 deliveries, one of his slowest knocks. He struggled throughout, failing to cleanly hit the balls on numerous occasions. This time, Sam Curran bowls another slower full, outside off delivery, and Ishan fails to connect it. Liam Dawson was stationed at cover and he made no mistake on that catch. India lose their 5th wicket for 158.

Sam Curran caps off an outstanding 16th over with the wicket of Shivam Dube. He was promoted to No.5 but he could never get going. With Ishan also struggling on the other end, Dube had the scoreboard pressure. He tried to take on Sam Curran on another slower delivery, but had no timing, and Tom Banton took an easy catch at mid-off. India are 146/4 after 16.

At this point, the team management might consider retiring Ishan Kishan out. World No. 1 T20I batter is striking at 118.18 after facing 33 deliveries, scoring just 39. He has only four fours.

Ishan Kishan needs to get going. He is striking at just 135. Shivam Dube is the new batter on the crease and with five overs left, these two need to go at a better strike rate. Tilak Varma, Axar Patel and Harshit Rana are to come next. India are 144/3 after 15.

India have sent in Shivam Dube at No.5 instead of Tilak Varma. Considering his struggles against spin, it seems to be a good decision, with Liam Dawson and Adil Rahshid both with 3 overs left combined. And this could also be a hint of losing confidence in Tilak's whose strike rate against spin is 116.

The partnership is broken as Shreyas Iyer falls for 37. He tried to take on Liam Dawson on a widish delivery but did not have enough timing. Tom Banton came running a few yards and dived to take an excellent catch. Ishan Kishan needs to unleash now, and he hasn't been able to. India are 130/3 after 13,

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan bring up a 50-run stand. It's a tad bit slower but the partnership can accelerate quickly. But Iyer's injury to his finger could change things as he receives treatment on the field. He injured his finger after he got hit by a short delivery by Josh Tongue.

Adil Rashid almost had Ishan Kishan but Phil Salt failed to hold on to the catch. Ishan was deceived by the flight, as he tried to pull. But Salt at mid wicket was way inside and misjudged the ball.

Halfway through the first innings and India's run rate has dipped below 10 after Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fell. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are rotating strikes against Sam Curran and Liam Dawson. India are 96/2 in 10 overs.

With both openers departing in the powerplay, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have taken charge of the proceedings in the middle overs. Iyer is fresh from his fifty in the 1st T20I.

Abhishek Sharma hit Sam Curran for three boundaries but the England pacer had the last laugh. He tried to take him on a low full toss, but he did not time it well and gave away an easy catch to Tom Banton for 43 off 24. India end the powerplay with 65/2.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was in a hurry to smash more sixes. But Will Jacks bowled it a little wide, and as Vaibhav tried to come down the track, he missed the line, and Jos Buttler did not make a mistake. Vaibav departs for 14 off 10 after Buttler's stumping. India 50/1.

Harry Brook called up off-spinner Will Jacks to break this threatening stand. But Abhishek Sharma hammered him for a four and a six on the first two deliveries over the cover to bring up a 50-run stand with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi off just 28 balls.

That was just in the slot for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Josh Tongue was duly punished. Josh Tongue bowled a slower delivery on the outside off and Vaibhav pulled it away for a six. And he makes the same mistake against Abhishek Sharma, who hit him for two sixes over the extra cover. He ends up conceding 20 runs from the over.

First ball against Jofra Archer, a fast delivery with some extra bounce, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets down on one knee and smacks it over the fine leg for a six.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has faced Jofra Archer in the nets of Rajasthan Royals, now, he takes on Josh Tongue for the first time. And there won't be any six on the first ball, like he hit some of the renowned pacers. He is beaten by Tongue on the first two deliveries. On the fourth delivery, he went off the mark with a single.

Abhishek Sharma has a strike rate of 167.6 against Jofra Archer. But with the overcast conditions and extra bounce on offer, Archer managed to keep Abhishek quiet on the first two deliveries before an outside edge flew for a four.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma begin for India. It is the most destructive pair in India cricket. Sooryavanshi strikes at 233.6 in the powerplay and Abhishek does so at 214.5. If they both get going, balls will fly all over the park.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also becomes the second-youngest debutant in cricket history. Pakistan's Hasan Raza remains the youngest debutant in cricket at 14Y 227D. 

Youngest International Debutant for each Full-members:

🇵🇰 14Y 227D - Hasan Raza (1996)
🇮🇳 15Y 99D - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (2026)
🇧🇩 15Y 116D - Mohammad Sharif (2001)
🇦🇫 16Y 252D - Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2017)
🇮🇪 16Y 309D - Josh Little (2016)
🏝️ 17Y 122D - Derek Sealy (1930)
🇿🇼 17Y… pic.twitter.com/wTRLizXIWi

— CricketGully (@thecricketgully) July 4, 2026

India have made just one change, dropping Sanju Samson for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. India will have six left-hand batters in the Playing XI, with Shreyas Iyer the only right-hand batter. India coach Gautam Gambhir had a long chat with Sanju after the Playing XI was announced. 

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

England captain Harry Brook and India captain Shreyas Iyer are in the middle for the toss. Harry Brooks flips the coin, and Shreyas Iyer calls it correctly again. He opts to bat first. Sanju Samson is dropped for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The MVP and the Orange Cap winner of IPL 2026 with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, makes his India debut and gets his debut cap from Tilak Varma. He hit 72 sixes in that campaign. He becomes the youngest debutant for India at 15 years and 99 days, surpassing Shafali Varma and Sachin Tendulkar. It has been the most anticipated debut, and everyone believed it would come against Ireland. But the team management has given him the green signal against England, with his Rajasthan Royals teammate Jofra Archer featuring for England.

England had already announced their playing XI yesterday. Jofra Archer is back, while Josh Tongue will make his T20I debut. Tongue gets his debut cap from Jofra Archer. Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood go out. Mahmood was excellent with 3/33 in the 1st T20I. 

Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue 

It could be the day of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He wasn't as involved in the practice yesterday. But just a few minutes ago, Vaibhav was doing shadow practice on the centre wicket. That could be the biggest hint. However, who does he replace? Sanju Samson seems to be the logical option. But Tilak Varma hasn't been in good form in T20s either.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shadow Practicing ahead of Manchester T-20I. #ENGvsIND #Vaibhavsooryavanshi pic.twitter.com/WEMNF7gNRU

— Ankan Kar (@AnkanKar) July 4, 2026

As for England, they have got their star pacer back. Jofra Archer joined the T20I squad after resting in Durham, following the ENG vs NZ Test series. Apart from Archer, Josh Tongue will make his T20I debut. So far, he has averaged 19.03, with a strike rate of 12.5 and an economy rate of 9.03 in T20s. While those stats are not exceptional, he is a wicket-taking bowler in T20s, and England would need that. Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood made way for the two pace bowling changes. Mahmood, despite returning with 3/33 in the 1st T20I, got the axe.

India’s T20 World Cup 2026 hero, Sanju Samson, seemed to find his footing. But three innings later, it does not seem so. His form away from home is weird. He has two centuries and two half-centuries. But he also has 6 ducks and 8 single-digit scores in 26 innings. With everyone cheering for Sooryavanshi, it will be difficult not to hand him the debut, dropping Samson in Manchester. Sooryavanshi has already hinted at something new on his Instagram story with the caption, “new chapter”. It could be a hint or just a new bat sponsorship deal.

As for the bowling attack, India won’t force any change since they were not tested in Durham. India could not bowl a single delivery in Durham. Barring the Samson vs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi swap, there is unlikely to be any change.

However, the rain threat looms large on the India vs England 2nd T20I as well after Durham. As per the UK’s MET department weather forecast, there is a 40-60% chance of rain during the game. Temperatures will hover around 18-20 degrees with a moderate breeze and light rain showers.

Manchester’s Old Trafford stadium offers something for everyone. The seamers get swing and bounce, the spinners exploit the bounce, while batters find scoring easier. That England smashed 304/2 against South Africa at this venue last year is a testament to that fact.

However, recent results say otherwise. In the five matches of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 played at this venue, the pitches were not really high-scoring. In fact, the average first-innings total was just 156. But the IND vs ENG 2nd T20I will be played on a fresh pitch, and there is already little grass left on the new surface. That could help the seamers and make it a scoring pitch later on.