Chasing a target of 191, England successfully reached it with an over to spare, thanks to Bethell’s impressive 46-ball innings that included five sixes. Earlier, Sam Curran delivered an outstanding bowling performance, taking 3 wickets for 33 runs, his best T20I figures on home soil, which helped contain India.
The focus was also on 15-year-old Sooryavanshi, who made history as India’s youngest-ever international cricketer at 15 years and 99 days, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s longstanding record. Stepping in for Sanju Samson, the teenage opener managed to score 14 runs off 10 balls, hitting two sixes in his much-anticipated debut.
As he faced England debutant Josh Tongue, Sooryavanshi was beaten by the first two deliveries before getting off the mark with an inside edge following a leg-side wide. Despite his brief innings, England clinched the victory to equalize the series.
The next challenge was confronting the recalled Jofra Archer on a swift, bouncy pitch. Sooryavanshi responded with a confident shot over fine leg for six, getting into the game.
He added another six off the very first ball of Tongue’s subsequent over, skillfully hitting a length ball into the crowd on the leg side.
Unfortunately for Sooryavanshi, England captain Harry Brook opted for the spin of Will Jacks, which led to his dismissal. Attempting to hit Jacks over the off side, he missed and England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler executed a swift stumping as he tumbled returning to his crease.
The left-hander contributed to a solid opening partnership of 50 runs in just 4.5 overs with Abhishek Sharma, who went on to score 43 runs from 24 balls.
Kishan Ishan topped the score for India with 49 runs, while captain Shreyas Iyer added 37. Tilak Varma injected some late momentum into the innings with 24 runs off 11 balls, which included back-to-back sixes off Archer. India concluded their innings at 190-7 after 20 overs.
Arshdeep Singh initiated a fantastic opening for India with the ball, dismissing both England openers for ducks in the first over. Phil Salt edged the first ball to wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, and Buttler fell to Varun Chakravarthy, who took a sharp catch at mid-wicket.
Brook counterattacked against India, smashing Arshdeep for three sixes in his next over but was ultimately caught behind sweeping Axar Patel, ending his innings at 39 off 15 balls. This marked Axar’s 100th T20 wicket for India, and he finished with commendable figures of 1-20 from four overs.
Arshdeep returned to break a threatening partnership between Tom Banton and Bethell, with Banton getting caught at deep extra cover.
However, Bethell changed the game by hitting Ravi Bishnoi for sixes off two free hits from back-foot no balls. The 17th over yielded 29 runs, allowing England to chase down the target despite the loss of Curran, who was caught by Sooryavanshi in the deep.
The third game of the five-match T20 series is scheduled to take place at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.
(With Reuters inputs)
First Published: Jul 5, 2026 12:40 AM IST
