Jacob Bethell's unbeaten 76 guided England to a four-wicket win over India in the second Twenty20 at Old Trafford in Manchester, spoiling the international debut of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager, who became India's youngest men's player at 15 years and 99 days, hit two sixes in a 14-run cameo but could not prevent the hosts from taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Sooryavanshi, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's record, faced debutant Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer, smashing a six off the latter. However, Will Jacks outfoxed him, leading to a stumping by Jos Buttler. Abhishek Sharma (43) and Ishan Kishan (49) contributed, but Sam Curran's 3-33 restricted India to 191.

England's chase stumbled early as Arshdeep Singh dismissed openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler for ducks in the first over. Harry Brook counterattacked with 39 off 15 balls, but Bethell anchored the innings with a composed 76 off 46 balls, hitting five fours and five sixes.

The game turned in the 17th over when Ravi Bishnoi bowled two no-balls, allowing Bethell to smash two free-hit sixes. Bishnoi conceded 29 runs, putting England in control. They reached the target with an over to spare, finishing at 192-6.

Sooryavanshi's debut drew a large Indian crowd in Manchester and a primetime TV audience in Mumbai. Despite the loss, his performance signaled a bright future for Indian cricket.

Source: www.aljazeera.com