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Bristol, July 10 (IANS) Skipper Shreyas Iyer admitted his side India once again fell short in execution across departments after England sealed the T20I series with a dominant nine-wicket victory.

India once again endured a batting collapse before skipper Shreyas Iyer rescued the innings with a fighting 80 off 49 balls. But no other Indian batter managed to make a significant contribution as the visitors finished on 158/7 in 20 overs.

Chasing a modest target of 159, England lost Jos Buttler early, but thereafter India had no answers as Brook and Salt stitched together an unbroken 151-run stand for the second wicket as England raced to 159/1 in just 13.5 overs, winning with 37 balls to spare.

This is the first time England have beaten India in a bilateral T20I series of two or more games. India have won five of the previous six, while one ended in a draw. India’s last two defeats in a bilateral series against England (any format) had come on the 2018 tour (by 2-1 in ODIs and by 4-1 in Tests). Post then, until before the ongoing one, they had won eight out of 10, with the last two Test series in the country ending in draws (both 2-2).

“Again, it was a disappointing one. Definitely, 158 wasn’t the perfect total on the board. And eventually we saw how quickly they chased down. When we came on to bowling, I just asked our bowlers to repeat the lengths as much as possible because top of middle-stump and leg-stump, it was very difficult to hit and score boundaries off that. So I think we fell a bit short in terms of our execution. And, yeah, we saw that when we were changing the pace, when we were trying something else, they scored off those loose balls, Iyer said after the match.

Shreyas Iyer rescued the innings with a fighting 80 off 49 balls. Walking in after the fall of early wickets, Iyer anchored the innings almost single-handedly, striking four fours and five sixes.

Reflecting on his own performance, Iyer said personal performances mattered little without a victory. “Definitely happy with my performance, but see, if it’s not on the winning cause, it just goes to the side. So disappointed on that aspect because whenever I play, I want to perform and see to it that my team wins. But unfortunately, today wasn’t that day. Definitely look forward in the next game,” he said.

Iyer further said the Indian side is currently in transition phase and backed the players to learn from their mistakes. “See, this is the transition phase and we will be making lot of mistakes. You see a lot of youngsters playing here in these conditions for the first time. So mistakes will definitely make them realize how important it is to adapt and have that awareness when you come in the overseas conditions,” said Iyer.

“It’s important that you learn quickly from your mistakes so that the team also benefits eventually out of it. And I’m sure that there are quick learners in the team. I’m sure they will assess themselves and get back stronger in the next game,” he conluded.

Before the ongoing season, India had won 11 of their last 12 bilateral T20I series, while the one in South Africa in December 2023 ended in a 1-1 draw.

–IANS

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Miami, March 20 (IANS) Nick Kyrgios recorded his first ATP Tour win since 2022 by rallying past American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald at the Miami Open. The 29-year-old, who has been hampered by foot and wrist injuries during an 18-month period, returned to action at the start of the year.

Kyrgios shook off his nagging wrist pain that has kept him sidelined for the past two years and forced him to retire during a first-round match at Indian Wells a few weeks ago before downing McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

After a wrist injury threatened to force the 29-year-old into an early retirement from tennis, Kyrgios believes this milestone is the crowning moment of his return.

“It’s been a long journey, even just to get to the start line of matches and be scared even to be able to finish them,” he said. “To come up and get a win and feel like I belong again, it’s pretty special.”

Kyrgios will next play 22nd seed Karen Khachanov to avenge his US Open 2022 quarterfinals defeat which prevented his path to back-to-back Grand Slam finals.

Kyrgios, winner of seven titles – all on hard courts – has reached at least the fourth round in five Miami Open appearances for his most consistent Masters 1000 event.

“Something about Miami brings out my best stuff. I’m proud of the way I dug it out and competed. At this level you have to compete. I can’t believe I’m here with the surgery I went through and back in the winner’s corner,’’ said the 892nd-ranked Kyrgios, who got into the tournament with a protective ranking.

“It was heavy for me personally. Just the day-by-day process to even be able to hit a tennis ball again was insane. … I want to be strong in those moments, but it was tough,” he added.

–IANS

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