England's issues with spin bowling persisted in the second T20I against India on Saturday, as six batters fell victim to the spinners. Varun Chakaravarthy took 2 wickets, making things tough for the England lineup, while Axar Patel (2 wickets), Washington Sundar (1 wicket), and even Abhishek Sharma (1 wicket) also caused problems.

In the first T20I, England struggled to put up a decent score, managing only 132 runs. However, in the second match, led by Jos Buttler, they came out swinging, trying some bold shots against the Indian spinners. They ended up with 165/9 after their 20 overs, but they couldn't build solid partnerships, as the Indian spinners kept outsmarting them.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen shared his thoughts, stating that the aggressive style known as ‘Bazball’—named after Brendon McCullum—might not be effective in subcontinental conditions. In a Q&A session on X (formerly Twitter), he commented, “Bazball doesn’t work against high-quality spin consistently! There’s a skill to playing spin in the subcontinent.”

After England's first T20I loss in Kolkata, Harry Brook admitted that dealing with spin in the shortest format is tough for him.

“Facing spin in T20 cricket is probably the hardest thing in the game, especially because I always get out trying to absolutely smack it,” he said. “Maybe I’ve got to rein in a little bit, but we’ll see.”

He also mentioned that the smog in Kolkata made it harder to face the Indian spinners, but he still got out cheaply to Varun Chakaravarthy in Chennai, where the weather was much clearer.

India leads the five-match series with a score of 2-0

On Saturday, Tilak Varma's impressive fifty under pressure saved India from a top-order collapse against the English bowlers, leading to a thrilling two-wicket victory in the second T20I and giving them a 2-0 series lead.

Tilak scored an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls, hitting 4 fours and 5 sixes, and skillfully capitalized on the fast pace of the English attack to guide India to their target, finishing the match at 166 for eight.

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