Irfan Pathan Reckons Pace Was The Difference Between England And India

Mar 13, 2021 at 4:15 PM

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Irfan Pathan Reckons Pace Was The Difference Between England And India

Irfan Pathan, a former India all-rounder feels that “pace was the difference” between the two sides as the Virat Kohli-led Indian team lost by eight wickets to England in the first T20I at Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.

Chasing 125, Jason Roy and Jos Buttler starred with the bat as they played knocks of 49 and 28 respectively. In the end, Jonny Bairstow (26*) and Dawid Malan (24*) took the visitors over the line.

Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan. (Photo Source: CricTracker)

Irfan Pathan Felt Pace Was The Difference Between England And India

Irfan Pathan’s remarks came after English pacers scalped six out of the seven Indian wickets. Pacer Jofra Archer returned with the figures of 3-23 in his fours overs that earned him the Player of the Match award. Mark Wood, Chris Jordan, and all-rounder Ben Stokes also picked a wicket each. Irfan Pathan felt that “pace was the difference” between the two teams as India lost the first T20I.

Taking to Twitter Irfan Pathan wrote, “What was the reason India lost the first t20 vs England? I think PACE was the difference.”

Bhuvneshwar Kumar Image Source : GETTY IMAGES
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Image Source: GETTY IMAGES

On the other hand, Indian seamers Shardul Thakur and comeback-man Bhuvneshwar Kumar failed to get any English wicket as the target of 125 wasn’t that difficult to chase. Jofra Archer was one of England’s many star performers in the match and did not concede a run from 16 of his 24 deliveries and got the wickets of KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Shardul Thakur along the way.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the vital member of the Indian bowling attack for the shorter versions of the game last played against West Indies in 2019 in August (ODI) and December (T20I) before suffering the injury.

He was one of the first players in IPL to use the knuckleball to perfection and won the Purple Cap (awarded for highest wicket-taker in the season) in two successive seasons, 2016 and 2017. He was ruled out midway after playing 4 matches of IPL 2020 due to a thigh injury he picked in a match against the Chennai Super Kings.

England Played 4 Frontline Pacers Apart From All-rounder Ben Stokes

In the match, India went in with three frontline spinners — Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Yuzvendra Chahal — while England went in with four frontline seamers — Sam Curran, Chris Jordon, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer — and all-rounder Ben Stokes also chipped in with a few overs.

Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer played innings of 67 runs off just 48 balls | BCCI

In the post-match press conference, Shreyas Iyer said that the plan of his side was always to play maximum spinners as it is their strength. England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first. Shreyas Iyer played a lone hand as he scored 67 runs while batting at number five and helped India post a score of 124/7 in the allotted twenty overs. India and England will now lock horns in the second T20I at the same venue on Sunday.

England lost 2 quick wickets of Jason Roy (49) and Jos Buttler (28) but Jonny Bairstow (26*) and Dawid Malan (24*) ensured England’s victory without further hiccups.

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