On Thursday, Hardik kept the match to his name with the bat and ball. Rohit won the toss and elected to bat first. He started off well. But Rohit went back after scoring 24 off 14 balls. Ishan Kishan was also dismissed after scoring just 8 runs. But even though they returned, India’s run rate did not slow down. Hooda, who scored a century against Ireland, also hinted at being in rhythm against England. He scored 33 off just 17 balls. Hooda hit three fours and two sixes. He was accompanied by Suryakumar Yadav. He scored 39 off 19 balls.

Hardik is definitely the key player in taking India’s runs to the 200s. The all-rounder could be India’s main strength in the T20 World Cup with the rhythm he has been in since the IPL. Hardik scored 51 off 33 balls on Thursday. He hit six fours and one. As soon as Hardik returned, India lost wickets in quick succession. Their innings were stopped at 198 runs.

The England team has destructive cricketers like Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone. Any target can seem low if its bat starts moving. The Indian team knew that too. But in the first over, Buttler was sent back by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Good start as a captain for the English wicketkeeper. After this, the magic of bowler Hardik started. He started taking wickets one after the other.

After bowling two overs in the first spell, Hardik returned Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, and Jason Roy. In the second spell, he bowled one over and took the wicket of Sam Curran. Hardik took four wickets for 33 runs in four overs.

Chahal bowled four overs and took two wickets for 32 runs. Arshdeep also took two wickets in the opening match. Bhuvneshwar and Harshal Patel took one wicket each. Moeen Ali scored the most runs for England. He scored 36 off 20 balls. Harry Brooke scored 28 runs. Chahal returned both of them in one over. Chris Jordan remained unbeaten on 26.

The second T20I is on July 9. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja will return to the team for Saturday’s match.