Manchester, Sept 1: Eoin Morgan's quickfire 49 outshone debutant Ajinkya Rahane's 39-ball 61 as England extended their Test dominance over India to Twenty20 as well, beating the visitors by six wickets in a one-off match here. Morgan, who struck 49 off 27 balls, was the hero of England's chase of 166, striking seven fours and a six yesterday.
Morgan put on 73 runs for the fourth wicket with Ravi Bopara (31) off only 49 balls to lead England to a comprehensive victory despite Rahane's 61 off 39 balls. Jade Dernbach (four for 22) and captain Stuart Broad (two for 37) helped the hosts with a flurry of wickets as the visitors scored only 61 runs, losing nine wickets in the final eight overs.
Thirty-three of these runs were scored by Suresh Raina who marked Tim Bresnan and Broad for special attention, smashing them for three sixes, as he took only 19 balls for his cameo.
The hosts, who won the Test series 4-0, gave Indians a lesson in Twenty20 cricket as well, scoring their runs with a mix of defence and attack.
The visitors, in contrast, appeared to play to the gallery and largely got their runs in fours and sixes - as many as 92 of 165 came off boundaries. England lost debutant Alex Hales (0) to Praveen Kumar off only the second ball of the innings but the experienced Kevin Pietersen gave impetus to the innings with a stroke-filled 33 off 23 balls with five fours.
Pietersen and opener Craig Kieswetter (18) guided England to 54 for one in the power-play but then the hosts lost both of them in the space of three runs to bring the match back on an even keel. PTI
