In an unbelievable fielding effort, KL Rahul on Friday restricted a certain six to two runs as India hopelessly defend a paltry total of 124 in the first T20I against England at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Axar Patel, who stole the show during India's 3-1 Test series win against England, got a rude welcome from Jost Buttler. The England opener lofted the spinner's first ball and it looked a certain six.
But this happened, with Rahul hanging in the air:
Earlier in the match, Indian batsmen struggled to score freely before Shreyas Iyer showed the way with a dogged 67-run knock that took the hosts to 124 for seven.
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The home batsmen never got the momentum going in the series-opener as England's pace-heavy attack, led by Mark Wood, used the extra bounce effectively to trouble them.
Most of the Indian batsmen went for flashy shots when placement would have served them well. The track had varied pace and required patience from batsmen.
Iyer though gauged the nature of the pitch quickly and adjusted his game accordingly, playing a sensible innings that helped them cross the 100-run mark.
Laced with eight boundaries and a six, and coming off 48 balls, it is Iyer's best T20 knock. He fell in the last over.
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England surprised India by opening the attack with leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who was not only economical but also dismissed Virat Kohli (0) after KL Rahul (1) dragged one back onto his stumps from Jofra Archer (3/23).
