ENG VS IND - 2nd T20I, India tour of England, 2018

21:33 Local Time, 02:03 IST: A fantastic match today! A lot of hype about the Merlyn machine which the English players have used to emulate the wristspin of Kuldeep and Chahal - a prototype of which was built way back in 2009. And boy, has that reaped results for the English. I'm uncertain whether the machine helps them pick the bowling out of the hand, but nonetheless, an excellent comeback from England today to set this series up for a potentially enthralling decider on Sunday. So that's that for the day, as we call it a wrap at 2AM IST. This is Rishi Roy, signing off from the comm-box and on behalf of Sriram AS, Akshay Maanay, and Mukesh Gowda, I wish Mahendra Singh Dhoni a blockbuster birthday! Ciao folks! #CurtainsDownFromCardiff

Alex Hales, Man of the Match 58*(41): It was much-needed, the series-decider for us in terms of staying in it. Nice to right the wrongs of last match, personally and team-wise. I've never faced Kuldeep before, had to look at a bit of footage to come up with a plan and follow it which we didn't do last game. Waited for him on the back foot today and looking out for the one floated up. The other night was just a bad day at the office. The long-term goal is the 2020 World T20, and getting a spot in the side is good enough - any position. Plunkett, Jordan, they can all bat really well, they can all hit boundaries. The way the bowlers got us into the game in this important encounter was great, they really set it up for us. Bristol will be a cracker, as these are two teams at the top of their games, so we're in for a show on Sunday.

Morgan, England captain: I think we did well to come back from Old Trafford, we played quite well. When there is bounce in the wicket there is certainly a chance to take wickets upfront, and we did that. Willey did well and set the tone and Jake Ball was great on debut. Only chasing 150 can be a cagey affair but we will walk away from this with a lot of confidence. The momentum does ebb and flow, and the side that grabs the moment will definitely win the game. Alex was fantastic today. The bowling unit adapted to conditions really well. We got good partnerships going which is important when you're chasing. We normally play spin well, and the guys had good confidence coming into the series and they stuck to the plans and executed extremely well today. It's a matter of being logical and committing to the plan and there was complete transparency in everything that our players did.

Virat Kohli, India captain: When you lose 3 wickets in the first 6 overs for 30 runs it's difficult to come back. I thought a partnership would get us to 145, and that would have been competitive. Average scores in local tournaments was around 145. England made good use of the wicket which had some extra bounce and some assistance for the seamers. They put pressure on us, and made us lose wickets, and the run-out didn't help either. We were probably about 15 runs short. We were pushed back initially in the first six overs. Our powerplay was not good enough, and the score in the end reflects that and we just couldn't push as much as we wanted in the end. You do take everything into account, like the pitch, etc. We did well and we knew it would be difficult for England to chase down 149 and level the series, and I think they had the partnership we didn't to close it off in the end. We knew it would be something they would have to work hard to win. They played Kuldeep really well. Chahal was outstanding and they switched roles in both games. They did their homework on Kuldeep and they reaped the rewards. It's a cruel format for the bowlers, Umesh was fantastic as well, and so was Bhuvi, but unfortunately he couldn't finish it off. That boundary in the end (19th over) from Hales pulled it back for them and these small things count in T20s which makes it such an interesting watch. We gotta brush it aside, take it in our stride and move onto the next game. I think we competed quite well but England were the better side, that's why they came through today.

- Five wins by England in Cardiff is the most by a team at a venue without losing a T20I. These teams have won four without losing any: Afghanistan in Nagpur, Australia in Gros Islet, Pakistan in Karachi, Windies in St. Kitts.

England in T20Is in Cardiff:
Beat Pak by five wkts, 2010
Beat Pak by six wkts, 2010
Beat Aus by five runs, 2015
Beat SA by 19 runs, 2017
Beat Ind by five wkts, 2018

- India's run of seven successive wins comes to an end. England remain unbeaten in five T20Is at this venue.

Riyaan Mak: India surely missed the services of Jasprit Bumrah!

Harsha Bhogle: Was a pretty decent defence of an inadequate total.

21:08 Local Time, 01:38 IST: Wow, what a game! Nail-biter until the very end. Not the best birthday present for MS Dhoni, but that ensures a decider @Bristol in a Sunday blockbuster! A poor start to India's batting, who were struggling against the early seam movement and extra bounce. They were revived by Raina and Kohli with a partnership and the finishing touches applied by MS Dhoni as usual with a 22-run final over. Either way, 148 was a below-par total and they needed to bowl out of their skins to defend this - which they did until an aberration of a poor over by Kuldeep, conceding 16 and bringing the required rate down below 8.00. An excellent penultimate over by Umesh set Bhuvi 12 to defend off the last over, but Hales stole the show with a six off the first ball and a four off the second to seal the win. India clearly missing the services of Bumrah today, but a fantastic contest to watch today.

Bhuvneshwar to Willey, 1 run, shortish one on the body, Willey pulls it away short-armed towards the deep mid-wicket fence for four - but not before they complete the single, so the boundary will not be counted. The bigger picture: The redemption of England against Kuldeep and Chahal, as they deny India their longest streak of T20I wins ever

Bhuvneshwar to Hales, 1 run, Hales, backing away towards the on-side, Bhuvi following him, and a swift whip away towards deep mid-wicket for a single. Scores level!

Bhuvneshwar to Hales, FOUR, back of a length and angling in, Hales has his feet cemented and has as free a swing at the pull as he can, gets an inside edge into his pads and away to the fine leg boundary for four. Surely, that's the match

Bhuvneshwar to Hales, SIX, length ball, a big no-no, and that's a 360-degree swing straight down the ground and out of the ground into a different area code! Is that the match? A new box of Kookaburras comes into the field. Some time for Bhuvi to compose himself as Kohli, Rahul and Rohit get together with him to offer some advice. 50 for Alex Hales!

Excellent 19th over by Umesh. Bhuvi, I assume, will bowl the last one. Nail-biter. Finger-sprainer (for me, at least)

U Yadav to Hales, 1 run, another marginally wide yorker outside off, squeezed away off the turf to sweeper cover for a single

U Yadav to Hales, FOUR, Hales is outside the crease and the yorker turns into a low full-toss: driven exquisitely through the in-field to the deep extra cover fence for four

U Yadav to Hales, 2 runs, slightly wide yorker length delivery outside off, squirted away with a steer to third man for a couple. Rohit in the deep cleans up and they manage a couple as Dhoni's signature deft deflection at the stumps isn't quite quick enough

U Yadav to Hales, no run, yorker length delivery outside off, Hales tries to dig it out and it only just misses the off-stump. Hales thinks about stealing a bye, but Dhoni fires one in with an under-arm whip and nearly hits the stumps

U Yadav to Willey, 1 run, fuller length, almost yorker length, following the batsman who is making room on the leg-side, and a leading edge off a flick goes square of the wicket and clear of point for a single into the deep

U Yadav to Willey, no run, inch-perfect yorker length on off, dug out back to the bowler, Umesh collects and tries to break the striker's stumps as Willey is down the wicket, but doesn't collect cleanly

Rahul Rathi: 17.1 (first innings), Root takes a blinder of Kohli. 17.1 (this innings), Kuldeep takes a blinder of Bairstow - similar position, similar shot.

Umesh Yadav [3.0-0-28-2] is back into the attack