India posted a competitive total of 170-8 after being asked to bat first in the second T20I against England on Saturday. Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bowl first on a pitch that seemed to have something for the faster bowlers.
After losing the first T20I at Southampton by a thumping 50-run margin, England decided to bring in a few changes to their lineup, heading into the all-important second fixture at Birmingham. The hosts brought in all-rounder David Willey and handed out a debut cap to a 34-year-old pacer from Lancashire, Richard Gleeson, who bowled exceptionally well.
Gleeson has been one of the names making the rounds in English domestic cricket for the last few years. Even though he started his career at Northamptonshire, it was his move to shift to Lancashire that initiated a change in his career graph. His performances for Lancashire were enough to earn him further franchise opportunities in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League (BBL). Also, he earned call-ups to the England Lions squad for their tour to Australia in 2020 and England's enlarged training squad later in the year.
In the last few years, he has represented various franchises, including Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Maratha Arabians, Team Abu Dhabi in the T10 league.
India's innings got off to an electrifying start, courtesy of skipper Rohit Sharma who scored an aggressive 31 off 20 deliveries laced with three fours and two sixes before he miscued a pull shot off Gleeson's bowling. The debutant bowled a quick short ball that rushed the Indian skipper, who, otherwise is exceptional with the pull shot, couldn't control it then.
One big fish was followed by another as Gleeson dismissed Virat Kohli, whose torrid run in international cricket continues. Kohli tried to throw the kitchen sink at a back of a length delivery around off which bounced a bit more. The Lancashireman did not stop there as he sent Rishabh Pant back to the dugout the very next delivery.
Pant charged down the pitch and swung across a length ball but only managed to edge it to Jos Buttler, who completed a regulation catch. Not only did he pick up two wickets in that over, but he also managed to convert it into a double-wicket maiden. Gleeson ended up with impressive figures of 3-15 of his four overs.
His figures were the second-best figures on debut by an English bowler in T20Is.
Best bowling figures for Eng on T20I debut:
4/24 - Jon Lewis
3/15 - Richard Gleeson
3/16 - Darren Gough
3/22 - David Willey