England produced a clinical performance to cruise past India in the first International T20 in Kanpur.
The visitors restricted India’s powerful batting line-up to just 147-7 after Eoin Morgan won the toss and asked them to have first crack, and the captain's half-century then helped his side ease to their target.
He put on 83 with Joe Root as England won with 11 balls to spare, meaning they will seal a series victory if they triumph in Nagpur on Sunday.
Tymal Mills opened up and was soon hitting the 92mph mark. Virat Kohli, in his new role as opener, pounced on any width, sending both Mills and Chris Jordan to the offside fence. Jordan would make the breakthrough, a bouncer hurrying onto KL Rahul who could fend at the ball and send it looping to Adil Rashid at short fine leg.
Suresh Raina biffed Liam Plunkett for a pair of boundaries before Kohli fell to Moeen Ali’s first ball. The skipper charged down the track but could only clip the ball straight to Eoin Morgan at wide mid on. Yuvraj Singh dispatched Moeen down the ground for four but would fall in the following over, getting a top edge to a Liam Plunkett bumper, Adil Rashid charging in to take a fine catch.
Raina launched Ben Stokes over mid on for six but perished the very next ball, the Durham allrounder bowling the left-hander round his legs with a yorker-length delivery. Manish Pandey made just three as Moeen trapped him LBW, the spinner finishing with figures of 2-21
India went 19 balls without a boundary before MS Dhoni slapped Stokes for four, but when Mills returned he picked up a first international wicket as Hardik Pandya sent a short ball up in the air for Sam Billings to grab. Two tight overs saw him finish with 1-27. Jordan went for back-to-back boundaries in the final over but India's momentum was interrupted with Parvez Rasool’s run out, Dhoni taking two off the last ball to help India to 147-7.
It never looked like being enough, and Jason Roy and Billings soon set about shrinking the target.
The livewire Billings took 20 off the second over from Bumrah, one magnificent six over fine leg and three superb fours signalling his intent. Roy followed suit by launching Ashish Nehra over long-off for six and then clattering Yuzvendra Chahal’s first ball into the crowd over mid-wicket, but Chahal quickly had England in trouble.
He forced an advancing Roy to play on next ball for 19, and later on in the same over he snuck one through Billings’ defences, the Kent man out for 22 off only 10 balls. Captain Morgan and Root needed to steady the ship, and two of England’s most important players did exactly that. Knocking the ball into gaps and piercing the field with occasional drives and pulls, it was textbook chasing.
Root’s footwork and driving was exemplary, and whenever the score threatened to slow down, Morgan would launch the ball into the crowd to give England some breathing space. He brought up 50 with a huge blow off Parvez Rasool, though fell for 51 off 38 balls by hitting the next ball straight to Raina at mid-off.
Root survived being bowled twice by Bumrah (once off a no-ball, then from the free hit) to see it through to the end, taking a single to long-on to silence the crowd one final time on Republic Day in India.
The three-match series moves on to Nagpur on Sunday, with the final T20I in Bangalore on Wednesday.
England return to Cardiff to face South Africa in the final NatWest International T20 on June 25th, with adult tickets for the clash at The SSE SWALEC priced from £35 and under 17s £10. CLICK HERE to secure your seats