The Indian cricket team lost to England by four wickets in the second match of ENG vs IND T20 2026 series at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester on Saturday.
After Wednesday’s series opener at Chester-le-Street was washed out due to rain, the result in Manchester saw world No. 1 India go 1-0 behind in the five-match series.
Electing to bat first, India posted 190/7 with valuable contributions from Abhishek Sharma (43 off 24) and Ishan Kishan (49 off 44). However, Jacob Bethell scored a fantastic fifty (76 not out off 46 balls) to script a late turnaround and hand world No. 2 England the victory.
The result also adds pressure on new Indian T20 captain Shreyas Iyer, who is yet to register his first victory since taking over the all-important role from his predecessor Suryakumar Yadav.
Vaibhav Sooryvanshi, who made his T20I debut in the match and became the youngest to play international cricket for India, had an impressive start and hoisted two huge sixes before being stumped while facing Will Jacks.
Abhishek Sharma, India’s other opener, seemed to be racing towards a second fifty on the bounce in the series but fell seven runs short as he was caught at deep midwicket off Sam Curran in the final over of powerplay, leaving the visitors at 65/2.
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan then combined for a 65-run stand for the third wicket to take India past 100 before Liam Dawson dismissed Iyer for 37 in the 13th over.
The wicket saw the Indian innings lose momentum as Curran dragged the hosts back into the contest by first sending back Shivam Dube and then Kishan, just one short of his fifty.
From a commanding 130/2, India slumped to 165/6 after losing four wickets for 35 runs. However, Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 24 off 11 helped the visitors recover to finish on 190/7.
Arshdeep Singh sent both England openers – Phil Salt and Jos Buttler – back to the dugout for ducks in the very first over only to be taken on by Harry Brook in his second over, which yielded 27 runs.
Brook, the England skipper, was looking dangerous before Ishan Kishan held on to the thinnest of edges off Axar Patel, who became the first Indian spinner to take 100 T20I wickets with the scalp.
Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton tackled the Indian spinners well and put together a 67-run stand for the fourth wicket to keep the hosts on track. Iyer brought Arshdeep back, looking for a breakthrough and the Indian pacer responded by dismissing Banton for 39.
Varun Chakravarthy then dismissed the dangerous Will Jacks at a crucial juncture to reduce England to 133/5, tipping the scales back in India’s favour.
Bethell, however, wrestled control back and was largely responsible for taking a struggling Ravi Bishnoi for 29 balls in the 17th over. The English batter also brought about his fifty in 39 balls during the over.
The over proved to be the turning point of the match as Bethell built on it and helped his team cross the finish line fairly comfortably in the end.
The third England vs India T20 match will be held at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Tuesday.
ENG vs IND T20 2026, 2nd match, brief scores: India 190/7 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 49, Abhishek Sharma 43; Sam Curran 3/33) lost to England 191/6 in 19 overs (Jacob Bethell 76 not out; Arshdeep Singh 3/40) by four wickets.
