India draw first blood

Manchester: Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav’s magical spell of wrist spin was complemented by KL Rahul’s dazzling strokeplay as India started their tour of England on a resounding note, winning the opening T20 international by eight wickets here late Tuesday evening.

Young Kuldeep (5/24) became the first chinaman bowler to take a five-for in shortest format as he singlehandedly restricted England to below-par 159 for 8 on a flat deck. 

Then it was the turn of opener Rahul, who smashed his second T20 International hundred en route his 54-ball-101 as India comfortably chased the target in 18.2 overs.

He added 123 runs for the second wicket with Rohit Sharma (32 off 30 balls), who played the role of second fiddle to perfection. 

Rahul’s innings had 10 fours and as many as five sixes and Manish Pandey’s injury proved to be a blessing in disguise as the talented Karnataka opener got a chance at No 3 with skipper Virat Kohli pushing himself down the order. 

It was the Indian captain, who finished the match with a six off Moeen Ali to remain unbeaten on 20.